According to wikipedia, the definition of a Marionette is, "a puppet controlled from above using wires or strings...with the puppeteer hidden or revealed to an audience..." Oddly enough, this puppet and it's Master have been the subject of my thoughts all day. And here's the train of thoughts put to words...
It's easy to feel like that puppet as a person who had a religious upbringing. And it wasn't a good feeling. Don't think that I blame my parents. It's more of an internal thing. Being raised to know what is right and wrong and what God wanted from me...it's the best thing parents can do for their children. But without a true relationship with God, a young person can begin to feel like they are being controlled by some hidden Puppeteer up in the sky, with no choice in the role or roles they feel forced to play. There's more of that to be said on another day...
Where my mind wandered today was to the strings that connect the puppet to its Master. In those moments of rebellion, when we're certain that we can walk on our own, make our own way, and we begin to reach up and cut or break those strings...you know what happens to the marionette. It's falls into a crumpled heap. It loses it's purpose and can no longer do what it was intended to do. I've been that marionette. I think most people can admit that. Then, over and over again, I've reached up and tried to tie my end of the string to His. Tried to reconnect on my own terms, to become again what I once was. Picture it, though...those knots in the strings. The marionette is once again connected to it's Puppeteer but it doesn't move like it was meant to...it limps because the knot changes the length of the string. There's a connection but the Puppeteer can't guide the puppet as smoothly as He once could. And, for me, the cutting of string and the tying of knots can become a way of life. Always trying to fix what I broke and get back to once was. It's the puppet trying to control the Puppeteer. And I just can't make it turn out perfect.
But what happens when the puppet stops moving, stays in that crumpled heap and waits? Would a Puppeteer leave its marionette there, broken and useless? Not the Puppeteer I know. In the story in my heart, the Puppeteer gathers up the strings and the puppet and gently lays it out on His workbench. He replaces every cut and knotted string with fresh, straight lines. He changes the costume, because it's time to make all things new, and this beautiful marionette has a dress that flows freely as the Puppeteer once again lowers her to the dance floor of the stage that He has placed her on. And because the lines that connect them are new and straight, He is able to move her in graceful motions that amaze the audience that watches. Whether the Puppeteer chooses to be hidden or revealed, the audience of onlookers cannot keep from admitting to His mastery of this beautiful marionette. By stopping and allowing the Master Puppeteer to fix his puppet, the puppet is able to find its new purpose, its new use on the stage where the Puppeteer places it.
"Praise be to the Lord, for He has heard my cry for mercy. The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in Him, and He helps me. My heart leaps for joy, and with my song I praise Him." Psalm 28:8
