the story of my life

...a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the LORD, but the LORD was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the LORD was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake came a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper...

Read: Matthew 13:24-34

Have you ever heard someone sigh "that's just the story of my life". Have you ever stopped to consider just what is "the story of your life"? Our lives are a collection of experiences. Many and varied. But "the story of our life" is an edited summary. Someone has chosen certain experiences to note and highlight, while leaving or neglecting others. I wonder on what basis that decision is made? To include certain things and leave others out...

Jesus didn't just buy into the dominant, common, always told story of Israel. He "listened" and paid attention to the other experiences, the "other story". He listened to the expereinces of samaritans, the poor, women, the sick, pharisees like Nicodemus and ordinary fisherman. In a way, he was asking "Who decided to tell the story this way? And on what basis are these experiences, and people excluded?"

Together with others, we choose the story that we want to tell about our lives. And that becomes the story that "defines" us. But the question that we might ponder is, "if God were to tell the story of our lives, what would he include, and what would he discard?" What story is God telling "over" our lives?

I trust (and this is my faith) that God is telling a story of healing, of significance and of hope from the experiences that make up my life...
Do you long to be free of the story that currently defines your existence? Do you long to hear a new story?

Perhaps a small first step to hearing the voice of God, is listening to, paying attention to the small voice - the quieter more humble memories that have been neglected or almost forgotten - the experiences and memories that are part of a different story of your life...

I would love to sit and explore that forgotten territory of your life with you!