The Storyteller

Since I was a little girl, I've always loved hearing a good story; however, a story is often only as interesting as the person telling it.  I remember my grandmother telling stories of her youth, as we were snuggled up in her bed, atop feather pillows and beneath cozy quilts.  I remember my father telling me horror stories of three-headed dogs coming across foggy bridges in the countryside, while I trembled with some fear, amid giggles in his big recliner.  I remember my own children begging for me to do "voices," as I read beloved tales and invented sagas when they were young.  We all loved to be entertained by a good story.

I've never heard someone tell life stories quite like my dear friend, Joan Van Hooser.  I met Joan at a particularly challenging time in my life several years ago.  Her evident love for God; for others; and for her family radiates from her like a sunbeam.  She can lift an oppressed soul simply by her smile.  She can give you strength simply by wrapping her arms around you.  She can take you to another place and time by her storytelling.

Joan, with her beloved husband, David

 I remember one particular day when we were teaching in the middle school building together, that we both had some free time.  We sat in her very welcoming office, and she lovingly told me about her grandmother.  Her eyes danced, and her excitement grew, as she recalled wonderful times with a lady who meant so much to her.  One year Joan gave all of the teachers a "prism" for Christmas, and of course, Joan had a story about it!  I think of Joan every year when I hang it on my Christmas tree.  Light glistens off of that prism, just like life glistens off of Joan.

Joan's laughter is contagious.  Her spirit is encouraging.  She loves life, and she lives every minute of it to the fullest.  That is her on-going story every day--to take the day that God has given us, and live it; use it; love it.

Joan's story over the past weeks and months has changed.  It is a story that she would not have planned, or necessary wanted to tell.  After being diagnosed with an incurable cancer, Joan's story is still inspiring throngs of people through her upbeat posts and notes on social media.  Joan's smile is still radiating that story through the pain, as experimental drug therapies wreak havoc on her physical body.  Joan's love and zest for life is still evident, and her story still has the "hold you on the edge of your seat" enthrallment that we all so well know Joan to have!

So today, I salute my sweet friend, Joan.  I thank her for the wonderful friendship that we have.  I thank God for bringing her into my life, and in that, I guess I have to thank him for the hardship that brought us together all those years ago.  I pray for God to just heal Joan, if that is His will.  And I know He will--either in this life or the next.  Joan's story is lived out daily for God's glory.  We all need to strive to be a storyteller, and Joan surely is a role model for us to follow!