Who I Am With You (Imagination #10) - Staci Stallings Page 0,122

good here in the boat’?

“Okay?”

“What if it’s our tribe that holds us back and keeps us down out of their fear, not ours? Then the question becomes, what if we found a way to use tribal proximity to our advantage rather than letting it stop us?”

“I’m listening.”

“I’ve been thinking a lot about what we talked about. What if we could create a tribe that encouraged inspiration, creativity, and innovation rather than trying to shut them down?”

“How would we do that?”

“Well, remember when Greg and I went to Meow Wolf that time?”

“Yeah?”

“Well, Meow Wolf was created by a group of people who used their imaginations to create something nobody had ever seen before. They were obviously tapped into that whole quantum, alpha thing. But rather than being shut down for it, they were given a space and freedom to explore their art, to bring their creations to life. What if it was possible to create a tribe where imagination is treasured and valued and then shared with the world to encourage others to get creative too? What if somehow you created a culture where thinking outside the box was the norm rather than an outlier? A culture of geniuses who encouraged each other’s geniuses—whether that be art or music or writing or… whatever.”

“How would you do that?”

The question deflated Taylor a bit. “I don’t know exactly. I think I’ve been in the boat so long, I’m not even sure how to get out of it.”

“The boat?” Yoli asked in confusion.

“Yeah, you know, the Peter boat? Getting out? The whole walking on water thing?” Taylor asked. Yoli was so much better at the Bible stuff than she was, she was surprised Yoli hadn’t understood.

“Oh. That.”

“Yeah, the preacher was talking about it this morning, about how we have to let go of what the world says and get out of the boat…”

“Wow. Okay?”

“Anyway, I’ve been thinking about Lily and about how her talent almost got shut down because there wasn’t really anywhere or anyone to encourage her. She had to do a lot of going it on her own, chopping down the jungle because there was no real support out there.”

“And you think you can create that place?” Yoli asked.

Excitement surged to ridiculous levels in Taylor. “That’s crazy, right? That’s insane. I’m not even sure what it would look like, but I think maybe God does.”

“God?” Yoli asked, like she hadn’t heard of Him either.

Taylor was starting to feel the wind and the waves kick up around her. After being so excited about the possibility of getting out of the boat, the last thing she expected was for her best friend to throw cold water on the idea. “Well, God’s all about miracles, right? I can’t believe I’m saying this… aye, aye, aye, this is completely crazy, but I think He’s asking me to be the one to step out, to get out of the boat I’ve been in my whole life and trust Him to know what this is, what this even means, and to have faith to try it His way. Is that crazy?”

“Actually, it reminds me of a song by a group called Casting Crowns. It’s called The Voice of Truth. If you really think this is God… If you really think He might be calling you do something radical like this, I think that song would be a good place to start.”

“Hm. I’ll have to check it out.”

“Cool. Well, I have to get to services and help LJ with the music, so…”

“Okay. Be good and stay safe.”

“Will do. You too.”

“Hey, Boy Scout,” Frank said, coming up the side aisle as Grace and Ben slipped into a pew.

“Frank. My man.” Greg put his hand out and Frank slapped it. “How’s life treating you?”

“Better and better all the time,” Frank said.

“That’s awesome.” Leaning on the guitar, Greg ceased practicing, grateful for a moment away from the drama. “How’re classes?”

“Clicking right along. Oh, and I also joined the campus maintenance department. You know that area they’re redoing over on 4th and Lancaster?”

“Yeah.”

“That’s me,” Frank said proudly.

“Wow, you do know how to make a mess,” Greg said with a grin.

“You got that right.” Frank looked around. “You’re early?”

“Yeah, I gave up on the whole homework thing. I think I’m going to be braindead by the end of this semester.”

“Eh, smart kid like you, it’ll all work out.”

“From your mouth to God’s ears.”

Frank grinned. “Tell you what, you pray for me, I’ll say a few for you.”

“Deal.”

Ryan came in then, and Greg stood.

“Well, I’d