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| Smith, Jeff, "Bone" Book 1, p. 18. |
[At this point, I will caution you: there are spoilers ahead in the next four posts. I would recommend skipping reading the rest of this series if you would prefer to not know the plot until you've read it yourself. I will add one other disclaimer, though: because of the thickness of the plot, my reflections will not completely spoil the story, but they will hit some of the biggest plot points. Hence my caution.]
The posts that will follow I originally wrote as soon as I finished the saga for at least the third time... in a row. I then wrestled with whether to post these reflections. As much as I wrestle with trying not to make this blog about me (because that's the easy thing to do), I also am a natural storyteller, and believe that 1.) every person that has ever lived has a story worth telling, 2.) even stories that seem at first glance like repeats never really are, and 3.) the way this comic intersected my life last November also played a role in my relationship with God and my hopes for a future at all. (I was staring at some potentially bleak possibilities for my future.) I believe that Jesus did use this comic, as well as some other personal tangible moments, to speak hope into my life when I was uncertain at best and pessimistic at worst. Therefore, I've chosen to share my reflections.
Once I decided to post these, the question then became when. The timing wasn't right at first. (It rarely is, as I'm finding out more and more.) Then life got really busy. Then some other things happened, and then finally COVID-19, which ground everything to a halt. And I mean, everything. As the pandemic itself was unfolding in our country I also felt inspired to post a series of posts around an admittedly difficult Biblical topic, which I decided to officially run on the blog last month. And then, more recently, the murder of George Floyd as well as the ensuing national (and international) backlash took up my attention, as I felt a more immediate response was needed. As such, I've chosen, finally, after pushing the posting dates back twice more, the latter half of June for this series so as to have something lighter-hearted to follow up a couple serious but heavy topics.
Obviously, I haven't gone back to read through "Bone" since I put it away back in November. It's an undertaking. As I sit here, reflecting on the comic saga, without having read it for a while, the picture that keeps coming up is one of Fone Bone (the main character), holding a map, looking ahead and charting the next step.
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| Smith, Jeff, "Bone" Book 1, p. 16. |
He is on an adventure. After I'd taken the Myers-Briggs test last fall (I also took it again this spring, getting the same results) and learned that my personality type is that of an adventurer, I found this photo to be inspiring and encouraging. This pic is at the beginning of the entire saga. Fone has no idea -- no idea -- what his life is going to look like over the next year and a half (the amount of time that goes by over the entirety of this saga).
Seven months after I finished reading the saga, a lot has changed in my life, and for the better. Because I actually wrote most of this post in April, and only mildly edited a section of it in June, I cannot really say as of yet what has happened. But a lot has changed. And while I much prefer a life that is safe and secure and in a consistent rhythm, my personality type evidently begs to differ. As much as I've tried to hang on to the idea of a life that is only safe and secure, it simply has not been the case. Following Jesus (or at least trying to) is an adventure by default. He promises both suffering and rewards as part of the journey. As you'll read over the next four posts, Fone's adventures, as well as that of everyone else in the saga, are nothing short of baptism by fire.
Maybe in a future post, after my reflections on "Bone" are posted, I'll post an "in-real-time" post about life updates. Time will tell.