Your brokenness can be the stuff of turning points and second chances for others

 

Devastating situations can knock the air out of us. Bring us to our knees.

 

Sometimes we cause our own tragedies, other times we’re innocent victims of someone else’s choices and actions. And often heartbreaks are part of life for everyone—like the death of a loved one.

 

Sometimes we are so broken, so helpless, we can’t do anything but fling ourselves into God’s arms and hold on.

 

And later—often much later—

we discover that within that place of crisis,

we learn our most important lessons—

 

• Sorrows can wrench us out of places we should never have wandered.
• Anguish can break down our stubbornness and make us willing, finally, to embrace a holy discontent with things that are not right in our lives.
• A crisis can force us to get serious about God and His forgiveness and grace—and about our need to forgive and extend grace to others.
• Devastation can shake us by the shoulders and convince us that God is worthy of all we are and all we have—that He is Number One.

 

In that way, our brokenness

can lead to our wholeness:

Heartbreaks can be the stuff of turning points

and second chances.

Personal disasters can lead to personal victories.

 

Some of you have been there. You messed up. Or maybe someone else messed up and left you devastated. Shattered. But you survived. Your broken self healed—by God’s grace. You’re living in a new chapter of your life.

 

• God has given you a new song to sing. (Psalm 40:1-3).
• He has given you beauty in place of ashes, gladness in place of mourning (Isaiah 61:3).
• He has restored places long devastated (Isaiah 61:4).
• He has turned your weeping into songs of joy (Psalm 126:5-6).

 

Write your story!

Someone needs to hear

that you got through your disaster.

 

Someone needs to know

that you are living a new and better life.

 

Not just that you got a new life—

but how you got there.

How did you and God, together,

get you to this new place?

 

Someone, sometime, will read your memoir—someone searching for answers, someone reeling in the midst of his or her own anguish, longing to turn a corner, desperate to receive a second chance, eager to leave the former life behind and make a fresh start. God can use your story to help answer their prayers, give them hope, and someone (you, through your memoir) to walk alongside them toward the other side.

 

In that way, you—just an ordinary person—can be a “messenger of the Most High.”

 

Take in the following:

 

“And so we understand that ordinary people are messengers of the Most High,” writes Lawrence Kushner. “They go about their tasks in holy anonymity. Often, even unknown to themselves. Yet, if they had not been there, if they had not said what they said or did what they did, it would not be the way it is now. We would not be the way we are now. Never forget that you, too, may be a messenger. Perhaps even one whose errand extends over several lifetimes.” (Eyes Remade for Wonder, Lawrence Kushner)

 

Read those last two sentences again with your memoir in mind:

 

“Never forget that you, too,

may be a messenger.

Perhaps even one whose errand

extends over several lifetimes.”

 

How can your stories extend over several lifetimes? By putting them in writing, making copies, and making sure your family knows they have copies—on a shelf somewhere, or in a box in the basement. They might not read your memoir in your lifetime, but someday, someone will read it.

 

Trust God—

He has given you a high calling.

 

Your stories matter.

 

Not so much because of who you are,

but because of who God is.

 

Commit your stories to Him,

believing He will use them to bless your readers.

 

“Your struggle to share your struggle changes the world.”

Mick Silva, Higher Purpose Writers

 

Stepping back from your mosaic

Henri Nouwen writes, “How do we know about God’s love, God’s generosity, God’s kindness, God’s forgiveness?”

It’s a good question but I’m a little hung up on the word “about.” I’d like to add this: The purpose of knowing about God is to move us increasingly closer to Him until we know Him. He longs for us to know Him in an intimate way so that we recognize we’re in His presence and we love and enjoy Him. And He loves and enjoys us.

It’s not just knowing about, it’s knowing.

Here’s a little human illustration. I knew about an actor who stars in Hallmark movies. And then, thanks to a certain school and two specific students, I have gotten to know that man. And I’m here to tell you there’s a lot of difference between knowing about and knowing. (He has even given me a hug!)

So, let’s go back to getting to know God:

We have any number of ways to hear about Him. One is to read and study the Bible.

Another way is to go to church.

And we can come to know about God through people. Here Nouwen points out the roles people play: “Through our parents, or friends, our teachers, our pastors, our spouses, our children—they all reveal God to us,” he writes.

This is where Nouwen’s illustration of a mosaic comes in—a pattern or design comprised of varying colors of small tiles, stones, glass, or paper which, skillfully pieced together, create a work of art.

Nouwen compares such a mosaic to the way humans discover God.

“A mosaic consists of thousands of little stones,” Nouwen writes. “Some are blue, some are green, some are yellow, some are gold.

“When we bring our faces close to the mosaic, we can admire the beauty of each stone. 

“But,” he continues, “as we step back from it, we can see that all these little stones reveal to us a beautiful picture, telling a story none of these stones can tell by itself.” (Bread for the Journey)

That’s the story of you.

God brought all those "stones," those people 

into your life so they’d point you toward Him.

How amazing is that?!

Through countless encounters with countless people—through

• work experiences,
• accidents,
• books, movies,
• serendipitous opportunities,
• health struggles,
• adventures,
• Bible studies,
• friends of friends, (even Facebook and Instagram),
• doctors, scientists,
• athletes, journalists—

any and all of these little “stones,”—which together comprise your own mosaic—have made God discernable for you, real for you, relatable for you.

Those are the ones God has placed into your mosaic to help you discover His heart, His grace, His guidance, His love, His plans and purposes for you.

In Lawrence Kushner’s words, they were for you “messengers on a sacred mission.”

Here, instead of the symbol of a mosaic, Kushner writes of puzzle pieces and the ways we can be puzzle pieces in other people’s lives.

“Every now and then (from where does that thrilling and terrifying insight come upon us?), we feel compelled to act. Each one of us are (sic) messengers on a sacred mission. . . .

Each lifetime is the pieces of a jigsaw puzzle.

For some there are more pieces.

For others the puzzle is more difficult to assemble.

Some seem to be born with a nearly completed puzzle.

. . . You do not have within yourself

All the pieces to your puzzle. . . .

Everyone carries with them at least one and probably

Many pieces to someone else’s puzzle. . . .

And when you present your piece . . .

To another, whether you know it or not,

Whether they know it or not,

You are a messenger from the Most High.”

(Lawrence Kushner, Eyes Remade for Wonder)

Think about the people God used

to point you to Himself.

Thank Him for those dear folks!

Consider how you might include them in your memoir.

Or, here's an idea:

Think about writing an entire memoir

based on the people God placed in your "mosaic."

He could use you as "a messenger from the Most High."

Just think about that!

Tuesday Tidbit: God’s fingerprints all over everything

Reading time: 45 seconds

How can you personally discover what A.W. Tozer discovered, and how can you work his message into your memoir?

Here Tozer is reflecting, a must in writing a memoir. He’s looking back, seeing the seemingly random pieces falling into place, noticing the deeper meaning, detecting a pattern, grasping the bigger picture.

It’s your job, as a memoirist, to notice—at least at some point—God’s fingerprints all over everything.

I have a hunch Lawrence Kushner’s thoughts, below, will inspire you, as well:

“God is . . . quietly, invisibly, secretly guiding our steps; feeding us our lines; moving us into position; unifying everything we do. We are chastened to realize that what we thought was an accident was, in truth, the hand of God.  Most of the time we are simply unaware. Awareness takes too much effort, and besides, it’s more fun to pretend we are running the show. But every now and then we understand, for just a moment, that God has all along been involved in everything.” (Lawrence Kushner, Eyes Remade for Wonder)

Consider how you can do some significant reflecting yourself 

and discover God’s fingerprints all over everything.

There you have it, your Tuesday Tidbit.

The stuff of turning points and second chances

Devastating situations can knock the air out of us. Bring us to our knees.

Sometimes we cause our own tragedies, other times we’re innocent victims of someone else’s choices and actions. And sometimes heartbreaks are part of life—like the death of a loved one.

Sometimes we are so broken, so helpless, we can’t do anything but fling ourselves into God’s arms and hold on.

And there, within that place of crisis, we discover that during our most painful times we learn our most important lessons. 

Sorrows can wrench us out of places we should never have wandered: Anguish can break down our stubbornness and make us willing, finally, to embrace a holy discontent with things that are not right in our lives.

A crisis can force us to get serious about God and His forgiveness and grace—and about our need to forgive and extend grace to others.

Devastation can shake us by the shoulders and convince us that God is worthy of all we are and all we have—that He is Number One.

In that way, our brokenness can lead to our wholeness: Heartbreaks can be the stuff of turning points and second chances. Personal disasters can lead to personal victories.

Some of you have been there. You messed up. Or maybe someone else messed up and left you devastated. Shattered. But you survived. Your  broken self healed—by God’s grace. You’re living in a new chapter of your life.

God has given you a new song to sing (Psalm 40:1-3).

He has given you beauty in place of ashes, gladness in place of mourning (Isaiah 61:3).

He has restored places long devastated (Isaiah 61:4).

He has turned your weeping into songs of joy (Psalm 126:5-6).

You need to write your story because

someone needs to hear that you got through your disaster.

Someone needs to know that you are living a new and better life.

Not just that you got a new life—but how you got there.

How did you and God, together, get you to this new place?

Someone, sometime, will read your memoir—someone searching for answers, someone reeling in the midst of his or her own anguish, longing to turn a corner, desperate to receive a second chance, eager to leave the former life behind and make a fresh start. God can use your story to help answer their prayers, give them hope, and someone (you, through your memoir) to walk alongside them toward the other side.

In that way, you—just an ordinary person—can be a “messenger of the Most High.”

“And so we understand that ordinary people are messengers of the Most High,” writes Lawrence Kushner. “They go about their tasks in holy anonymity. Often, even unknown to themselves. Yet, if they had not been there, if they had not said what they said or did what they did, it would not be the way it is now. We would not be the way we are now. Never forget that you, too, may be a messenger. Perhaps even one whose errand extends over several lifetimes.” (Lawrence Kushner, Eyes Remade for Wonder, emphasis mine)

Read those last two sentences again with your memoir in mind: “Never forget that you, too, may be a messenger. Perhaps even one whose errand extends over several lifetimes.”

How can your stories extend over several lifetimes? By putting them in writing, making copies, and making sure your family knows they have copies—on a shelf somewhere, or in a box in the basement. They might not read your memoir in your lifetime, but someday, someone will read it.

Trust God—

He has given you a high calling.

Your stories matter.

Not so much because of who you are,

but because of who God is.

Commit your stories to Him,

believing He will use them to bless your readers.

“Your struggle to share your struggle changes the world.”

Mick Silva, Higher Purpose Writers

Tuesday Tidbit: People who pop into our lives

Have you found this to be true while thinking back on your life and writing your memoir?

Be sure to explore levels of your life that are just under the surface. Peel back layers. Examine. Ponder. Make time to discover gems for your memoir, gems in the form of people God brought into your life to play key roles.

That's it,

your 15 seconds of inspiration,

your Tuesday Tidbit.

“No such thing as happenstance”

What do you and your memoir have to do with Joseph? You remember Joseph—the guy with the coat of many colors.

He was sold by his brothers,

relocated in Egypt,

elevated to a position of exceptional power and influence,

falsely accused of rape by Potipher’s wife,

imprisoned, an innocent man, in a dungeon,

reconciled with his family,

and resettled in Goshen.

Rabbi Lawrence Kushner observes:

“The characters in the tale are so consumed with trying to manipulate their own fortunes that they all (like most of us) fail to notice what is really happening not only around them but—and here is the key idea—through them and despite them. Nobody gets it. Nobody but Joseph.

“… He realizes that something else has been going on all along.… ‘It was not you,’ he tells them, ‘who sent me here but God!’”

Memoirists need to be like Joseph. We need to step back and take a long look—a deep, wide, high look.

Memoirists must shun shallow living and superficial thinking.

Memoirists look over their lives and say, “Something else has been going on all along!”

“God is … quietly, invisibly, secretly planning our steps; feeding us our lines; moving us into position; unifying everything we do,” writes Kushner.

“…What we thought was an accident was, in truth, the hand of God. Most of the time we are simply unaware. Awareness takes too much effort.… But every now and then we understand, just for a moment, that God has all along been involved in everything. As Rabbi Zaddok HaKohen taught, ‘The first premise of faith is to believe with perfect faith that there is no such thing as happenstance.… Every detail, small or great, they are all from the Holy One.’” (Eyes Remade for Wonder; emphasis mine)

What are you discovering as you write your memoir?

Be a Joseph! What was God doing,

“quietly, invisibly, secretly” to bring you to today?

What was happening around you, 

through you, and even despite you?

Connect the dots.

What new person have you become?

What new direction has your life taken?

In what ways has your faith changed?

What messages of wisdom and hope can you write

into your memoir for your readers?