I'm a teacher, and for the last several years I have taught middle school English Language Arts. One part of my job has been teaching children to write: creatively and informatively. To be honest, I don't like creative writing. Ask me to write a research paper or about something I know and I'm fine, but when I have to write a poem or create a fictional story, I freeze. To create a story from "nothing" is very terrifies me.
One thing I have learned is everyone has a story. We are all part of this world and as long as there is breath in our lungs we all a story to tell, and they matter. You may be thinking right now, "My story doesn't matter.", but you are wrong it does.
God shapes our lives through our experiences-through our story.
Through different times in our lives-good and bad-God uses those experiences to mold us into the people we are today. I think of Joseph in the Bible. He was sold into slavery yet God used him to become second in command under the king of Egypt. What his brothers meant for harm, God used for good. What experiences in your life has God used to shape you? God uses the good and the bad in our life to mold us.
In my life I have been blessed with times of joy: marrying my best friend, Peter and the birth of our two sons, Patrick and Samuel. Then, I have experienced heartache: losing a child through miscarriage and suffering from depression. At the time, dealing with my miscarriage and depression seemed almost impossible. I didn't know how any good could come from it, but God shaped me into the woman I am today through that heartache. He has used it to make me a more courageous person and one who is more dependent on Him.
Our story matters because it can help others.
There have been many times in my life when I have cried out to God, "Why is this happening?" I wish I could say He gave me a clear answer, but I learned later, sometimes years later, that through my trials and tears, I was able to help others. I was able to listen to someone, give advice, pray with someone, or just say "I know your pain." It doesn't make the pain I went through hurt any less, but it gives it some purpose. It allows some good to come from it. God can bring some good to even our heartache.
What is your story?
So what is your story? What are the things you are going through that God is using to shape your life? Is it a job promotion? A job loss? A health crisis? Adoption of a child? An ailing parent? A chronic illness? Retirement? A new volunteer position?
How are you allowing these to shape your life? What story is God writing on your heart? What is He teaching you through the joys and sorrows in life? How is He molding you? How is He calling you to minister to others through your story?
Embrace the lessons in life and allow God to mold you into the person He has created you to be.
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