Your Story Matters
At lunch last week Sandy shared the decision she and her husband recently made. They are going to sell their home. She explained all the issues they considered; COVID-19 changes, the unstable economy, uncertain November election outcomes, mortgage rates at an all-time low, personal aging, and the fact that they live in an isolated area. But then she spoke of her longing, for many years, to return someplace close to family.
Sandy spoke of her upbringing, raised where all her siblings participated in the family business together. Now that her parents passed, her siblings need her. They need the strength of her values and convictions, the support of her loving care in difficult times, and her insight gathered from a lifetime of experiences different from their own. They need her story…that story that has shaped her into the woman she is today.
Do you realize that every moment of your unique life is your story? And it gives you a message that others need. Your story matters. As original as you are, you are also part of a community of people- family, neighbors, friends, associates, or acquaintances. Someone in your community needs your story today.
How can I be so sure? Because your Creator weaves your story into one that enriches your life and prepares you to help someone else face theirs. We are told in the Bible, “Encourage one another and build each other up.” Details of your story and lessons learned may be the very key someone near you needs to know how to successfully move forward in life.
We need others to give us perspective. A psychologist once explained to me that those very rare individuals who grow up completely alone (homeless orphans, abandoned children, etc.) sadly, never grow from the benefit of other’s stories. They do not have the ability to be circumspect, (derived from the Latin for “to look around” and means, “the surveying of all possible consequences before acting or deciding.”) They become inwardly focused able only to see the world from the limited perspective of their own mind.
Living apart from community is like looking directly into a mirror, and seeing only one view. Only when connected to those around you, like mirrors in the “Hall of Mirrors” attraction at an amusement park, can you see yourself from numerous angles and sort through the maze to a positive end. Our combined stories provide these angles, enabling us to grow and move forward in life.
Take time today to think through your story. Write it down. What unique set of challenges and difficulties confronted you in life? How did God help you solve the mysteries found in relationships, career, and recreation? What life lessons can you share with another in light of your personal Refreshed Life that might help them go forward? How can you build on these lessons to move forward yourself in these difficult times?
If you need tools to consider this, write me and I will gladly send them to you.
What is your message? How can you help? Only you know your story. And only you can share its message. Someone needs your story today.
