Never Too Old for Story Time

There was a time in my life when I couldn't read. Obviously, there's only so much I remember about that time.

But I have distinct memories of flipping through picture books and knowing there was a story there. It was a story I couldn't understand just by looking at the pictures. This frustrated me. I remember knowing that I would need to ask Mom or Dad to read the book to me.

My dad would take us to the library every Saturday morning. We would pick out books and read them when we got home.

My mom read to me a lot when I was little. I remember being wholly engrossed in the stories of The Chronicles of Narnia. I would laugh out of pure excitement when Aslan would show up.

I read A Wrinkle in Time when I was seven, something I bragged about regularly.

School brought a new set of reading challenges. I had to answer questions and analyze what I read. This allowed me to get a well-rounded literature experience and deepened my understanding of stories.

I love stories.

I love reading them. Sometimes, I like writing them.

We all get older. And some people start to believe that they are too old for stories.

Some maintain their love for stories, but most of us don't get read to once we can read on our own. Most of us don't have the time to get lost in a good story. And through busyness and indifference, we forget why stories matter.

Reading aloud

One summer, my mom read aloud every evening. Our family worked our way through the book Johnny Tremain, a book that almost made me cry at the part where he loses the use of his hand.

Once, we listened to a professional storyteller at a local event about different world cultures. My family still quotes the funny lines of her memorable performance.

Our dear friend, Robbie, is a story telling wizard. My family and the family next door love to have story time with him. After dinner, we'll all gather round, and he will read us stories. He'll show the pictures and read with all the funny character voices. Some of the neighbors are still kids, but in those moments, we all become children again.

My time on night shift was lonely, but one of the best things I found during that time was The Comicstorian. I know that sounds like a promotional pitch, but I promise he didn't pay me to write that. I'm a bit of a Batman nerd and having someone dramatically read entire comic book story arcs to me? Dude, I had landed on a gold mine.

Listening to stories uplifts and engages us. When we listen to stories, we allow the storyteller to take us on a journey. We let someone else take the lead while we are free to engage and use our imaginations. This is one way to get lost in a story, but we can also find this when we take the time to read.

Getting lost in a good book

There is nothing quite like curling up with a good book on a comfy couch with a cup of coffee or tea. That is my happy place. That, and Barnes and Noble. There's coffee and books there. I'm sensing a pattern here...

When I read, I am transported to a world different than the one I occupy.

Or as Emily Dickinson put it

There is no Frigate like a Book

To take us Lands away,

Nor any Coursers like a Page

Of prancing Poetry

This Traverse may the poorest take

Without oppress of Toll

How frugal is the Chariot

That bears a Human soul.

I couldn't say it any better than that.

When you take time to get lost in a story, you engage your mind and allow yourself to see worlds and experiences beyond the here and now.

But when you read and when you listen, you are also reminding yourself why stories matter.

Why do stories matter?

Whether they are read aloud or read silently, there is something about stories that resonates with our hearts and minds.

Stories help us think about problems and ideas in a context that is unrelated to ourselves. I can put myself into the mind of a character and wonder how I would act if I were in his situation. We can look at a problem or concept from all angles through the opinions and actions of different characters.

Stories help us feel. When I read a story, I am free to experience emotions in a way that can help me sort through my own emotions in my own life.

Stories demonstrate truth. Stories teach us lessons that we can't always grasp by looking at a list of facts. They allow us to experience truth and let that truth resonate with our souls and not just our minds.

So, do we ever outgrow stories?

Life gets busy. Most of us don't have the luxury of time to read, and when we do have time, we spend it scrolling on our phones. Our attention zips from one interesting thing to the next, never really taking the time to digest one thing.

Focus on one story from beginning to end.

We might lose our interest in stories. We might not take time to listen to stories or try to understand the lessons they teach. We become bored with stories or don't feel like engaging with them. Maybe you got to a point in your teenage years when you said, "I'm too old for stories."

That's one of the saddest mentalities someone could have. A mentality that says, "I don't need stories anymore. I'm too old for that sort of thing."

But some of the greatest teachers have used stories. Stories have helped convey some of the greatest lessons and truths in all of human history.

There is a vast amount that adults can learn from stories. It's not that we have learned all the lessons that stories have to teach us. It's that some of us have stopped listening.

C.S. Lewis wrote that

No book is really worth reading at the age of ten which is not equally and often far more worth reading at the age of fifty and beyond.

The stories are still there. To help us learn. To help us feel. To help us experience truth. You might think you've outgrown them and that stories are only for children, whimsical artists, and wishful thinkers.

No.

We may outgrow our love for stories. But we will never outgrow our need for stories.

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