Burying the Lies

by Marcia Lee Laycock

I squirmed with frustration. My husband had control of the remote and he was flying through Netflix like he was on some kind of speed drug. I’d get half way through reading the information and whoosh it would be gone.

Finally he asked, “What about this one?”

“Fine,” I said, more from a desire to stop the annoying process than to see the film. 

I settled back in our new recliner and hoped the movie was descent enough that we could watch it all the way through. The title filled the screen. 7 Days in Utopia. Never heard of it, but one of the main actors was a favourite so it looked promising. A movie about golf. Hmm ... well, we’ll see.

It engaged us enough that we kept watching. Then the final scene ... the main character was about to make the putt of his life. Would he redeem his career or choke again? The camera followed the tiny white ball across the green. Then the screen went black. Then a website link appeared – www.didhemaketheputt.com

What?

So we took the bait and followed the link. The author of the book appeared and began to talk about the movie, about how the main character had been believing lies about himself – that his identity and worth hinged on the game; that if he failed at golf he failed at life.

Then the author asked what lies we were believing. I gulped. I’d had a frustrating week – issues with my publisher, a writing block that looked like a solid steel wall, a project I had prayed about that still sat in limbo. I started listening to the lies: Nobody wants to read your work. You’ll never get that project off the ground. That idea you think is so great? It’s lame. You should just quit – stop banging your head against the brick wall. Nobody cares. Anger had been boiling inside me and it was starting to spill over into other parts of my life. 

The author invited people to bury a list of those lies, as the character in his story did, then make a list of what is true. He invited us all to recognize that the most important things in life are to see God’s face, feel His presence and trust His love. 

Refocusing on those essential things brings everything else into perspective. The lies fade. The truth shines through: I am deeply loved by a God who is all powerful; I have been given all I need to accomplish all that God wants; if I never publish another word  (or win another important game, or close another business deal) God will not love me any less than he does right now.

“My eyes are ever on the Lord, for only he will release my feet from the snare” (Psalm 25:15). 

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Marcia Lee Laycock writes from central Alberta Canada where she is a pastor's wife and mother of three adult daughters. She was the winner of The Best New Canadian Christian Author Award for her novel, One Smooth Stone. Her second novel, A Tumbled Stone was recently short listed in the contemporary fiction category of The Word Awards. Marcia also has two devotional books in print. Her work has been endorsed by Sigmund Brouwer, Janette Oke, Phil Callaway and Mark Buchanan.

Abundant Rain, an ebook devotional for writers can be downloaded here.

Her most recent release is the first book in a fantasy series,

 The Ambassadors

Visit Marcia’s Website 

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