Stories matter. Stories make a
difference. Even little stories.
Cathy, Lia, and Kathleen proved it.
Tears stung my eyes when I read their
comments after last Wednesday’s post, Connect Your Dots. Do you remember it?
“O, Lord, You’ve said You
will make my path straight!” Barb cried. “So why is my path so crooked?”
She listened for God’s answer. He
seemed to say, “Barb, this is my straight path for you!”
God’s reply zinged Barb.
Barb’s story zinged three of you.
Cathy Scibelli left this comment:
“… Many times when I read your posts I feel as if
I've tapped into a hotline to the Almighty because they are so often an answer
to something I've been musing and praying about. Just today I was thinking
similar to Barb, saying to a friend I wish God would put up road signs that say
‘Wrong Way’ so I don't stray off a nice straight smooth path. Now I understand
not to fear the bumpy detours.”
Lia London said this:
“I absolutely love this idea! For
years, I’ve understood that the Lord has customized trials for us, but I had
never visualized the ‘path’ idea. Your dot-to-dot idea further helps me see how
each individual’s journey is its own beautiful work of art, and we are in the
care of the Master Artist.”
Kathleen Pooler wrote:
“You always seem to strike a chord in
me with your posts! This one took me back to the time I decided to move out of
state. I was a single parent with two school-aged children and on the surface
it certainly didn't seem like a rational plan. Even my brother said ‘there's a
straight line from A to B but Kathy chooses the zig zag course.’ In retrospect,
as irrational as it all looked, I know now that God knew what He was doing. Thank
you for another thought-provoking post that gets me in touch with my own
journey and with the awesome presence of God in my life.”
So there you have it: Stories are important!
Stories can solve mysteries, encourage change, inspire action, and give hope.
Even your everyday stories can impart wisdom and shape character.
Your stories can change lives.
No wonder God urges us to tell others
what we’ve seen Him do!
Over the years, God used Barb’s story
in powerful ways, and He can do the same with your stories.
Your stories can build bridges between past generations and future generations.
Like Lisa-Jo Baker said, word by word, build your bridge,
that others might walk across. (From her blog post, Because Words Can Build A Bridge…)
Last summer Pastor Sid Tiller preached a sermon based on Psalm 100:5, “For the Lord is good and his love
endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations.”
Sid challenged us, saying,
“Generations before you
lived for you
and told you of God’s
love and mercy.
There are folks counting
on us—folks not born net—
who need us to put Psalm
100:5 into action.
May your children and grandchildren
and great-grandchildren
know the name of God and
praise Him.”
Stories matter. Stories make a
difference. Even little stories.
Your stories can be sacred, full of
life and light.
Write your stories!
Linda,
ReplyDeleteThanks for the mention. It makes me realize how important our "little stories" are in the grand scheme of our lives. Your post tapped into a memory that directed me to look at how God has touched my life. It seems my faith in God is affirmed even more through each story of how He has touched all our lives. Yes,our stories do matter!
Linda, I'm so honored to be mentioned in your post. But I have to tell you, I'm beginning to suspect the truth--you aren't actually a human being, this blog is being written by an angel. You have such amazing insight into the spiritual side of life and your posts have a way of uplifting us that usually only comes from prayer or meditation. When your new post came up in my feed today, the first thing I saw was a thumbnail of the message about being a bridge. This morning I was praying about whether the direction I've been taking in my writing is where I should be headed. I put on a new meditation CD I recently received from a friend and it told me that I needed to take a leap of faith and build a bridge to create a path for myself and others. So if you're not an angel, then I'm convinced that one visits you each day with a script for your blog posts! ;-)
ReplyDeleteI'm glad my comment helped "prove" that our stories matter. At the same time, I know we don't always get feedback when we write those memoirs, and we may mistakenly feel that they serve no purpose, or lift no hearts towards God. I've come to know that just the act of writing them lifts our own hearts to God as we recognize His hand in our lives. Even if no one ever read the memoirs (though I hope they do), writing them improves me--and that improves my ability to be God's hands in the service of others and to help them build their own spiritual memories.
ReplyDeleteI love what you're doing here, Linda! Keep it up! (Ever thought of getting on Twitter to reach a larger audience?)
Lia, I agree. Linda you could reach a larger audience through Twitter. Let me know if I can help you get started!
ReplyDeleteLinda, once again you've hit a home run here! You've cited some of the wisest women in blogdom, ones I find myself trailing behind hoping to catch their crumbs, yours included. The concept of our stories building bridges so well speaks to their importance. Without bridges, how would we cross rivers, streams or sometimes lakes or larger bodies of water? Likewise, without our stories, how do we bridge the generations together from the oldest down to the youngest and beyond? It all works on the same principle, doesn't it? Keep writing and follow Kathy's advice and check out Twitter. I'm not sure I've got a handle on it yet, but I'm connecting with some really great people.
ReplyDeleteGood morning, dear friends! Thanks for leaving your rich comments. :)
ReplyDeleteSoooo..... you think I should get on Twitter? I've been resisting it so far, but I'm open to reconsidering it. E-mail me with more details, please. :)
Hugs to each of you!
Linda
Dear Linda,
ReplyDeleteI'm happy to get you started on Twitter. Here's a link to a post that I hope will be helpful:
http://www.shirleyshowalter.com/2012/04/30/using-twitter-strategically-its-all-about-making-meaningful-connections/
Email me with questions!
Hugs,
Kathy