Advent: Telling Their Story - Thursday, December 26

You make known to me the path of life; in Your presence there is fullness of joy; at Your right hand are pleasures forevermore.

Psalm 16:11

One day . . . Path Maker (Jesus) asked me to walk with Him. At the black bear den, we carefully watched the three newborn cubs. They were born blind and did not have much fur. Path Maker told me that they will need their mother’s help for food and learning how to live for the next 3 years. Then He said, “Bill, I know about the bears because I made them. I also made you and know you. Be like the newborn cubs and depend totally on Me. I will help you learn how to live and walk on the right path of life, the path I made and walked on for all people.” *

Historically, storytelling has been an important part of life in all cultures. It was “school” before there was formal education. Elders and parents have used it for thousands of years among the Native American and Alaska Native peoples. It is used at the many U.S. and Canadian Indigenous language immersion schools, as well as at Haskell Indian Nations University.

I was given the opportunity to be Papa Bill, an Elder Storyteller in Alaska in the summer of 2018. The Holy Spirit helped me write simple stories that helped connect the Good News (Gospel) with God’s creation. This spoke directly to the heart of the Alaska Natives who are inseparably connected with their environment.

Advent is also a time of telling a simple story. It is the story of God coming into His creation, as the person Jesus, to show His love to all people, the people He created. He, then, perfectly walked on the path He made. Before He left for Heaven, He told His followers to tell everyone this story so they would also know the path of life and have His joy, now and forever.

Father, send Your Holy Spirit to help us tell the story of Jesus to everyone we meet.

Bill Paris
Haskell LIGHT, Lawrence, Kansas

* Excerpt taken from “Lessons From Path Maker: Be Like a Newborn Baby”, Bill Paris, 2018 ©