on paying attention to the story of our life

You know when you keep hearing the same thing over and over… and over?  And it’s from unrelated events and distant people and certain places that aren’t connected?  And you just have this sense that by the third or fourth time of hearing it that you might need to start paying attention?

I think that I need to start paying attention.

This concept of :story: has been bouncing around all corners of my world and I am taking notice.  We all have a story to tell… what is that story?  This word remember is bouncing around my head and my heart.  Remember that story… remember… tell that story.

Prompting questions from different places: What have I seen done in my life?  What are the events and people and places that have made me who I am?  What is this story that you have been living and what makes it significant?

It’s all-too-easy to hear this concept of telling your story, writing your story, and feel like you maybe haven’t had anything glamorous or sexy or adventurous or miraculous happen to you, and your story might not be as valuable as another’s.  Or maybe your story has been a hard road, and you don’t like to re-live that story.

But I assure you: whatever your story is, tell it.  There is significance in naming things, whether they be good or bad, miraculous or mundane.  There is value in remembering and writing it down.  Put a name to it, recognize it as part of your story.

Because we all have a story to tell.

Sometimes remembering is difficult, sometimes remembering stings, sometimes remembering feels mundane.

But sometimes, sometimes remembering gives strength.  Sometimes speaking your story breathes encouragement.

See, when you tell your story, you just might be able to give strength to another.  You say: If I can do it… then you can do it too.  

When you tell your story, whatever it is that your life has been about, you lay down the process and the purpose and the power of things being worked out.  Because that’s what God does: he holds things together and he works them out.

I’m an Old Testament girl.  Yes, Jesus was the best.  But my heart beats for the Old Testament.  Over and over and over God commands the Israelites Remember that I am the Lord your God.  I brought you up out of Egypt.  Remember, remember, remember.

Because when they forgot, they wandered.

Write it on the door frames of your houses.  Tie tassels around your waist and hang it from your head.  Speak of this to your children.  Remember.

Let the redeemed of the Lord tell their story.

The other night we told our story to some dear friends.  And sometimes when we tell this particular story of ours, it goes like this: “God got crazy, and obvious, and we knew we had to go back into the military, so here we go.”

But this time, this time that we told our story, it felt different.  They wanted to hear it all, every ounce and every detail.  And so we started from the very beginning, hitting all of the corners and turns along the way.  And two things happened: One, our friends were encouraged.  They said that they felt like their faith was strengthened by watching how we are stepping into some big things right now and they now feel like they can maybe step into big things too. {NOT because we’re great.  because we’re not.  we are NOT great.}  But the second thing that happened was this: WE were encouraged.  We’re in a state of transition… for the next 18 months.  We’re stepping into some big things.  Hearts and heads are dealing with a lot right now, and it is easy easy easy to get doubtful and bitter and stubborn.

It has been more than just once that I have said to Lane “We heard correctly… right?  We’re doing the right and good and best thing… right?”

So it is not small fact that we were encouraged.  When we told our story, we realized that big things have happened, God has moved, we heard correctly.

I brought you up out of Egypt.  Remember.

And so tomorrow, I am going to write down our story here.  I am going to write down how God got obvious, and crazy, and started to move.  So, if you want to know the whole story, please my friend, check back tomorrow.

But if not, I leave you with this: tell your story.  Write it down, talk about it with your nearest and dearest; you just might get a glimpse of Jesus in it.

xoxoxo

sarah