Handing it Over

Well, the time is here at last. Safe Haven goes into production this week. Lines are learned, sets are built, and all the little details are (I hope!) taken care of. Time for the director to sit back, relax (yeah, right!) and enjoy the show.

There’s a theater tradition that, going into production week, the director hands the show over to the stage manager. That’s all well and good, and I have nothing but confidence in our stage manager, but as we came into this week, I decided to try something different. I handed the show over to the real Stage Manager. That would be God.

Not that I haven’t always given the shows over to God. (Not much choice, really. They’re His shows.) But I don’t remember ever doing it so specifically before. This was Saturday, and I was in the auditorium spending some time in prayer for the production. I told God that I was taking my hands off, and I was putting the show into His hands. I told Him that He was the manager and controller of the play. And then I stepped back.

And truly, I have stepped back. Okay, yes, I’m still watching rehearsals and giving notes. And yes, I’m still dealing with details. But I’m not obsessing with worry over the show the way I usually do.

Why should I? It’s in good hands.

 

What a Friend

“Oh, what peace we often forfeit,
Oh, what needless pain we bear.
All because we do not carry
Everything to God in prayer.”

“What a Friend We Have in Jesus” is kind of the theme song for Safe Haven, and I’ve downloaded about six different versions of it to use for scene change music during the play. So I’ve been listening to this song over and over and really hearing it for the first time.

God’s answers to prayer are not our answers. This is shown rather vividly in the play when one character has his prayer answered in a way no one would ever choose. Yet, in God’s plan, everything has worked together for good.

I’m seeing this in my life right now, as well. (Funny how often I find myself dealing with whatever we’re working on dramatically.) I pray for peace and healing, and I’d like God to wave His magic wand and make it happen. Yet God’s answer is, Follow Me through this desolate wasteland – peace is on the other side. I ask, Can’t we go around? But God is firm. The only way out is through.

So here we are, wandering in the wilderness. I think back to the words of the song – Oh, what peace we often forfeit…All because we do not carry everything to God in prayer. If this is peace, why does it feel like so much turmoil? That’s when I have to cling to faith and just keep following Him, knowing He’s promised to bring me through.

If only I could learn this as well as the characters I write do.

Decisions, Decisions

Well, auditions are over. I had twelve really talented people audition last night. Unfortunately, there are fourteen roles in the play. Perhaps I went too far with my “this will be an intense rehearsal period; don’t come if you can’t commit” speeches.

So now there are decisions to be made. Regular casting decisions, of course, but also decisions about what to do with my lack of actors. One of the roles is quite small and can be easily doubled – no problem there. But I’m still one short. So do I go beat the bushes and drag in an actor who wasn’t sure he wanted to commit? It seems like a bad idea – I’d regret it when he missed rehearsal; he’d regret it when he was overwhelmed by overcommittment. That leads me to Option 2 – there is one role that could potentially be dissolved. I’m not sure that’s a great idea, either, but it is a nice benfit of writing your own scripts rather than renting them – I can do that kind of thing without breaking copyright law.

As Kiera reminded me in her comment to my previous post, this kind of decision can only be made through prayer. I know that God is the real director of this drama ministry, and I’m only a representative. But it’s hard to sit quietly and listen for that still, small voice when my mind is clamoring, “Hurry up, make a decision, everyone’s waiting.” It’s so temting to jump out and make a decision, any decision, just to have it done. I know that God gave me the inspiration for this script, and I know that He knows exactly how it should all fit together. I just wish He’d give me a call, or send me an e-mail, with His preferred cast list. Oh, and could you do that today, God?

Acts of Faith, over and over and over again. 

On the positive side, among the twelve who did come last night, there aren’t many difficult decisions about cast placement. As we did readings, people seemed to fit pretty naturally into one part or another. Some of them fit right where I’d expected them to. In other cases, readings made it clear someone needed to be cast differently than I’d expected. Which is, I guess, why we do readings.

You know, when I typed “among the twelve” in that last paragraph, it suddenly sounded quite biblical to me. The twelve, sent out to spread the Word. Maybe twelve is a better number for this cast than fourteen.

For those readers who auditioned, I’ll post the cast list here as soon as it’s done. For now, be patient. I’m waiting.

It’s Done

I just typed the most beautiful words in a writer’s language – The End. I finished the rough draft of Safe Haven. And the last line even brought tears to my eyes.

Of course, there’s lots of editing to be done, and much work ahead. But I had never written a full-length play before. For the Passion play, I was just arranging a familiar story, and as far as original plots, 45 minutes was the longest play I’d written. I really didn’t know if I could pull this off.

But the script is done. The story is there. And I think it’s going to be good.

Thank You, God, for the inspiration. I know it was You.

Unfamiliar paths

Isaiah 42:16 says, “I will lead the blind by ways they have not known, along unfamiliar paths I will guide them; I will turn the darkness into light before them and make the rough places smooth. These are the things I will do; I will not forsake them.” To me, this is the perfect definition of an act of faith – recognizing I am blind, and following God along an unfamiliar path.

I named our drama ministry (and this site) Acts of Faith, because we didn’t know where we were headed, and we had no choice but to follow God through the thicket. This week, though, God has directed me to act in faith in a completely different way – to back out of a ministry I had been involved with. Before now, I had never seen that quitting could be an act of faith. I saw quitting as giving up, and thought the act of faith would be to forge ahead.

God has shown me otherwise, both through His counsel and the counsel of some godly friends. I spent a lot of time in prayer over this decision, and He rewarded that by allowing me to hear His voice. I realized I can’t listen to the voices of should and ought to over the voice of God. Last night I heard people whom I expected to be hurt by my decision call me brave. I can’t rely on support from anyone other than God, but it sure doesn’t hurt.

So now I have to wait and see what He has planned next. There’s some indication He has new directions in mind for the drama team – our first outside-the-church-walls event fell into my lap last week, and I’m hoping it will lead to others. During the month of October, our church concentrated on the theme “Fill us up, send us out”, and I’ve been feeling convicted about being willing to be sent out. What exactly does that mean? I have no idea. He hasn’t shown me yet.

Waiting. There’s a real act of faith.