Have you ever tried to start a message, whether you’re writing or making a video, and you just can’t find a place to start? I have. I have stared at the blank screen. Then written. Then deleted. Then wandered away. And came back again.
I know there is something in me that wants to be said, but I can’t for the life of me figure out what it is.
A metaphor helps. A long time ago, I was in a preaching course (yes, I was briefly a theology student) and the professor (I wish I remembered his name, but it was a very long time ago) told us that to begin a sermon we needed to find the end of the tape.
On the days when I don’t have any idea where to start, because I am not sure even what I want to say, the metaphor helps. Mostly it helps, because if you have a roll of tape, there is always an end somewhere. You might have to run your fingers over the whole of the roll to find just the hint of an edge. You might have torn the tape off badly last time, so that even when you find the end, it’s only a fraction of what you need. But there is always an end to the tape and you can always find it eventually.
A metaphor gives us a way to believe something we cannot articulate and cannot back with reason and research. Because you can’t research evidence for the idea you haven’t had yet.
But you know that there will be an edge to the tape.
