Your Story Matters

I love people’s stories.  I’ve been that way since I was a child.  During holiday dinners, when I was often relegated to the “children’s table” I would prefer, instead, to listen in on the adults as they told funny, exciting, sad, or even tragic stories from their lives.  

During the years when my mother was suffering from Alzheimer’s, I would often visit her in her care facility and be transfixed at the stories I heard from other residents – stories of their beloved life, replete with photographs, that painted a picture of the person whose hand I was holding.  

You see, their stories mattered. 

Lately, I’ve been reading an interesting book called, When You Don’t Like Your Story, by Sharon Jaynes.  Admittedly, I have not finished it yet, but what I have read up to this point is spot on.  Sharon, who was a leader in Proverbs 31 Ministries for ten years, reassures the reader “that the worst parts of your story might just be what God uses the most.”

Now that is unequivocally true.

Too often people feel they are not “good” enough to be used by God.  Their past (aka “their story”) is not a pretty one.  Sometimes people are embarrassed or ashamed of certain chapters in their life – whether it was two years ago or 25 years ago.  And sadly, far too many people can’t see how God can use the worst parts of their life to bring about good.

But the Lord is in the business of transforming lives.  He gives “a crown of beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, and a garment of praise for a spirit of despair” (Isaiah 61:3).  And he promises His children that “all things work together for good to those who love God and are called according to His purpose” (Romans 8:28).

There is nothing more powerful than a Christian sharing their story.  It’s not only a testimony of what God can do in a person’s life, but also a witness to the truth of the Gospel.

And that is where you come in.

Your story matters.

Realize that there are people in the world who can relate to those difficult chapters in your life -- who need to know that God can give beauty for ashes and transform their lives, just as He did yours.

Have you shared your story?  Please do.  After-all, as author Sharon Jaynes states, “ . . . with God, your worst chapters become your greatest victories.”