Saturday, February 23, 2013

Stories

As I head into the last two months of college, I am beginning to realize how much change is about to take place in my life.  I decided the best way for me to process and truly embrace everything going on would be to write about it.  And why not share what I'm learning with the people I love? 

This past week I found myself leaning over a bucket and consuming a meager amount of saltine crackers in place of real food.  Oh, the joys of the stomach flu.  In a period of four days I managed to watch Season 1 and Season 2 of Downton Abbey, a feat I am not too proud of.  I also found the time to finish reading Bittersweet by Shauna Niequist.  Paige Oler let me borrow Niequist's first book, Cold Tangerines earlier this year.  I decided to purchase both of her books on Amazon a few weeks ago and I have been incredibly challenged and blessed by her raw honesty and pursuant heart after God.  I found myself underlining paragraphs at a time, and laughing and crying as if I was a part of her stories. What I enjoyed so much about these books was the recognition of brokenness and beauty in life, and the evidence of Christ in all seasons of life.  

If there's one thing I have learned from working with Noelle Hagen for three years, it is the value of stories.  Noelle has taught me how valuable and significant my story is, and she encourages everyone she meets to share their story.  One of my favorite Eastside staff traditions is our late night tent talks during August staff training.  We share our stories and let each other into the nitty-gritty parts of our lives.  One of the final chapters in Bittersweet is titled, "Your Story Must Be Told." I thought I would share some quotes from this chapter, and maybe it will nudge you to share your story... 

"There are two myths that we tend to believe about our stories:  the first is that they're about us, and the second is that because they're about us, they don't matter.  But they're not only about us, and they matter more than ever right now.  When we, any of us who have been transformed by Christ, tell our own stories, we're telling the story of who God is." 
"The big story really is actually being told through our little stories, and by sharing our lives, not just our sermons, we're telling God's story in as reverent and divine ways as it has ever been told.  God's story was told in Hebrew and Greek, and I believe that it's also being told in whispers and paintings and blogs and around dinner tables all over the world." 
"There's nothing small or inconsequential about our stories.  There is, in fact, nothing bigger.  And when we tell the truth about our lives--the broken parts, the secret parts, the beautiful parts--then the gospel comes to life, an actual story about redemption, instead of abstraction and theory and things you learn in Sunday school."  

Your story is significant.  My story is significant.  Tell it.  Share it.  Live it.