God in CBS Sitcoms and the Merits of "Holy Goldfish"

Sorry it has been so long. I'm sure all zero of you who read this will be glad to see that I have once again updated.
I'm gonna forego the usual fiction this week and just write some interesting things that I've been thinking. First and foremost, I have to say that "How I Met Your Mother" is the most optimistic (or at least "encouraging") show on television. Some folks have offered their reasons to the contrary, but I say that optimism is not dead. The reason is simple. If you've never seen the show, it is all a giant frame story where this guy is telling his kids (in the year 2030) about how he meets their mother back in the present day. I was recently watching a repeat of the show where the main character, Ted, gets left at the altar. Most of you probably know that I am a pretty sentimental guy, though I hide it well, and I felt kinda sad for him.
Interestingly enough, I only felt bad for him for a minute. See, even though he got left at the altar, and that would really suck for the time being, we know the end of the story. He "get's the girl." How cool is that to watch a show and, even in the saddest moments, realize that it all works out for them? I know that in most sitcoms we can assume that things end all happy go-lucky, but in this case, we KNOW it.
Now at first I was really just concerned wit the happy-and-fuzzy feeling that produced, but as time went on, I started to realize the incredible potential of this. As Christians, we "know" the end of the story. I have often said that God is the greatest writer in history (you can see why I'd like that metaphor). Technically speaking, He's the writer OF history, but that's not important right now. Back to the point, the story ends with victory. As is so often the case in my own life, we live as a defeated people, Christians and non-Christians alike. We live like the situations in this world have gotten the best of this, and there is nothing we can do to overcome them. The good news is that it is not the end all. Nothing in this world can overcome our God who has written the end of the story. We may not know the end of it yet, but what we do know is that God has the power of it, and we don't have to fear. We are not defeated. If THAT is not encouraging, I don't know what is.
As for the Part II of this story, let me tell you about the merits of "Holy Goldfish." At BCM this evening, we took communion with the seniors. It's strange to think that next fall, most of the faces that MADE BCM what it was to me for so long will be gone. The people that led our ministry for the last few years will be off leading in other capacities. But in taking communion, we did so with grape juice and goldfish. It amazes me just how much signifigance there is to communion. First of all, as a group, it signified us as a whole. We, as a whole ministry and believers, are one by taking part in the "body of Christ." It doesn't matter what the actual thing is, whether it's white bread, wheat bread, or little fish-shaped fried bread. What matters is that we are honoring and remembering the person of Christ and the body of Christ to which we belong.
However, there are two parts to communion. The second goes with the first, and without the both, it is nothing. While we were taking communion, it occurred to me what it all really means. The blood of Christ is given to us for forgiveness of sins. That is obvious. What is not obvious is that communion is sort of like a contract. In getting the forgiveness of the blood, we "sign ourselves up" for the body of Christ, as well. This means that we get the fellowship with others, but we also get the work for the Kingdom. One of my own personal "struggles" for lack of a better term has been to find my place in God's Kingdom. Although I can't answer that for everyone, I can definitely say this much, that as Christians, God asks us to participate in the work.
It's late, so maybe more on this to come. For now, though, I'm tired.

Adam W.
Phil. 3:12-14