Wonder Word Wednesday

       I love English. Well, actually I love the way English works. Language is always evolving and changing with culture. As cultures intertwine with our own we incorporate their words into our language. For example if you are making an appointment in French you are setting up a rendez-vous. We like to say chauffeur because it sounds so much classier than driver, but alas, they mean the same thing. Sometimes there are words that we just see as the perfect word or phrase so we take it and appropriate it into English. These words include cliché, déjà vu, and coup d'é·tat. Today's word is one that we use untranslated and say using the French pronunciation. 
Today's Word: Denouement
       Three syllables. Pronounced [dey-noo-mahn]. Noun. Defined in the OAD as the final part of a play, movie, or story, in which matters are explained or resolved. I love this word! (Sorry, I got a bit overexcited there, but isn't it just beautiful?!) A denouement is the resolution of a story; the part where we get to find out how the story fits together which leads to the end. We love denouements. The satisfying part were everything comes together is beautiful. When writing a story, an author builds characters, creates a plot, and develops the action. They are the creator of the story and the god of their world. 
       Unfortunately, not all stories in our lives have resolutions that we can see. Sometimes we don't get to see the end of a story or find out the why behind it. Why does God allow suffering in the lives of believers? Why does he allow some to struggle and others to prosper? Why do some die so young? I don't know, but I don't have to because I'm not the Author of the story. My role is that of an engaged reader who wants to learn about the Author so I can better appreciate His crafting and molding of the world around me. 
       I have been fortunate to see the denouement in some of the stories that make up my life, but others are left unresolved. I hope that someday I will be able to understand, but even if I can't always understand how God works, I know enough about Him to trust that He will bring the story to a beautiful end. I know this because He's already given us the denouement for the story of the world. Spoiler alert: For those who believe and trust in God, our final story is already written. "Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. I also saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared like a bride adorned for her husband. Then I heard a loud voice from the throne: 'Look, God's dwelling is with humanity, and he will live with them. They will be his peoples, and God himself will be with them and will be their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes. Death will be no more; grief, crying, and pain will be no more, because the previous things have passed away.'" (Revelation 21:1-4)
       I've read some pretty amazing denouements in my lifetime, but never will I read anything with a better resolution than that. If you are struggling and searching for whys, I get it, I really do, but please look for resolution in the Author of the story who started a good work in you and will carry it on to completion.   

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