Story: Why Tell It? #4

Here it is! The final post in the series. Today I'm talking about why we need to tell our stories. 


But first, let me make this clear. While I do believe that we all have a story to tell, I don't believe we are all called to write about or even broadcast our lives to the entire world. I believe that we all have many stories to share, the bulk of which make up our 'story'. So while you may not be called to share your entire life's story in one place, such as a book, you need to be open to the fact that God will bring people and/or opportunities to you. And when that happens, be ready to share a part of your story.  

Your story is your testimony. It is your opportunity to attest to the truth of what God has done and is doing in your life.

Telling your story helps others to know:

• They are not alone

We all need to know that we are not on this journey alone. We were created for relationship…to exist in community. When we find that we share a common trial or circumstance with another it creates a feeling of connection. 

 What! You too? I thought I was the only one. ~C.S. Lewis

• There is hope

When we see that someone has come through a trial we have hope that we too can make it through whatever trial we may be facing.  Hope awakens our soul to press on. Prayer gives wings to that hope. (click to tweet)

Hope is the dream of a soul awake. ~french proverb

• There can be purpose through pain and trials 

That thing (pain, trial, persecution, illness, failure, etc.)  the enemy of your soul uses as a means to destroy you? That is the very thing that God in His great love, grace, wisdom, and mercy can turn around to be used for His glory and your good. 

And we know that for those who love God, all things work together for good, for those who are called according to His purpose. ~Romans 8:28 

Telling your story has the capacity to show that you have come through it all and you survived. You were not destroyed. And it may just complete the healing process for you when you realize all that God reveals to you as you begin to work through the telling of your story. 


You see when you tell your story you begin to find your place in HIS story…the story of God's great love, sacrifice, and redemption. 

Let me give you two illustrations of how God works through our broken mess to bring about His good purpose in our lives.

Kintsugi

Kintsugi is an art form developed by fifteenth-century craftsmen in Japan to repair broken ceramic wares using lacquer with gold or silver powder. The term kintsugi means to patch with gold. Instead of using a material to hide the breaks, the gold is used to highlight the quality of the repair work and to show the cost of redeeming something so valuable. 

The artist has increased the worth of the item not only because of the craftsmanship of the repair but also because of the value of the material used to make the repair. The break becomes the stand-out feature on the object making it even more valuable than when it was all in one piece. 

The art of kintsugi beautifully illustrates our Master taking our broken pieces and putting us back together again. In the process, He uses the 'mortar' of the blood of His Son, Jesus, and the refining fire of the Holy Spirit to bring the pieces back together; creating within us a stronger spirit with more beauty than we ever possessed when we were whole. 

What is the 'break' in your life? That break is the very thing that becomes most precious as the blood of Jesus is that which glues you back together. You are not 'used goods'. You are not worthless because of your brokenness. 

No! 

God wants to use your brokenness to show the world His power and Glory in your life as He puts you back together one precious piece at a time. Then you will again be whole…yet not as before, but even more beautiful as His mark is now evident in your life.

Mosaic

When creating a mosaic the artist often takes broken tile, or glass from different sources and puts them together to create a beautiful work of art. A strongly bonded piece of art. Much like our group of beautifully broken women who came together to form a sweet community that shines brightly into each other's lives and into the world. Together we form a much stronger bond that cannot easily be deconstructed. (I wrote about this group of women earlier in this series on story here:  Story…Redeemable #2). 

Just as the store we visited took pieces of mismatched broken items and redeemed or re-purposed those items into beautiful pieces of art, God can do the same for you. Only God can bring about true redemption, restoration, wholeness, and peace. 

You see the enemy creates that conflict within our souls and only our Savior can break the tie/sin that binds us to the enemy. He then brings us back into communion with Himself. We are redeemed by the precious blood of the Lamb of God, Jesus. It is with His blood and the word of our testimony, our story, that we have overcome!

And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, 

and the word of their testimony. Revelation 12:11a

So go ahead and pick up the pieces. Place them all in the hands of the Master Artist. Let God use your broken pieces to make something beautiful. Then go tell others about what He has done in your life.

It's time to tell your story! Don't you agree?

You can read the entire series by visiting these links:

Story: The Great Connector #1 

Story: Redeemable #2  

Story: The Conflict #3 

Story: Why tell it? #4

(art photos are public domain photos and used Under the rule in Bridgeman Art Library v. Corel Corporation, a mere 'record' photograph of a 2D work of art (i.e. a photograph which is an as-accurate-as-possible copy of the original) acquires no copyright protection.)

Healed or Walking Dead? Choose Now...

This week is the last in a series of link-ups with Jo Ann Fore's book study, When A Woman Finds Her Voice. It has been a privilege to walk in this community of voice bloggers. To join in with other women who are learning to walk, healed and whole, into the fullness of redemption and restoration that God has for each one of us.  It is the light that leads the way home to a lost and hurting world.

  It isn't a trivial journey, this healing. This restoration, this redemption, is a biblical mandate…a life principle to be worked out, and shared with others. We redeem the hurts of life when we allow them to come full circle, when we pour into the lives of others. ~Jo Ann Fore,When A Women Finds Her Voice.

With these words in mind, let me caution you. You cannot fast-forward past the process of healing into the sharing and comforting of others. When you do…you end up not sharing words of hope and comfort, but words of pain and bitterness. The cacophony of the pain and bitterness of your story all but drown out any of the words that are meant to point to the light of hope and healing. Too many come together to talk about their painful past only to find themselves commiserating in their stories of pain and misery. You cannot reach out to give hope and comfort when you, yourself, have not received that comfort.

The Walking Dead...

I believe there are too many women walking around with soul wounds…gaping, bleeding, ugly wounds.  I have this picture running through my head of the ghouls on the show, the Walking Dead. I know that sounds extreme but let me tell you what I mean.

Sometimes the wounds we carry are caused by others, sometimes by life's circumstances, or they may have been self-inflicted. In any case, they are an indication of this fallen world in which we live.

Having an open wound requires all of our focus and attention to remain on ourselves. We spend the majority of our time and efforts tending to the wound. If the right salve is not applied we begin to look like the 'Walking Dead'…stuffing our emotions down, becoming lifeless. There is no 'inner light' left for others to see. We begin to think that no one should be exposed to the ugliness of our wounds, and so we withdraw deeper into our own world. But we don't become hermits because, as they say...life goes on.

But our voices become wilted…melting...silencing the emotional pain.

We go on about the tasks of our daily lives in a 'Stepford Wives' sort of existence, saying and doing all the right things. All the while, our true self longs to be heard, longs to call out to someone who will listen and apply the needed salve to our wounded spirit.

The enemy of your soul wants you to be a member of the walking wounded. He wants you to believe that there is no way out…no answer…that it is so much easier to remain in your present state than to move forward.

Scars...a sign of healing

It is difficult, if not impossible, to move forward in our God-given purpose, if we do not first address the wounds of our spirit. You see it is not the open wounds that propel us forward, but wounds that are healing and healed...leaving the scar.  Scars are an indication that healing has taken place.  We first need to address the open wound, the brokenness, if we are to be emotionally whole again.

As the healing begins to take place, it is the scars that we use to propel us forward. The scars that enable us to say, ''See,  I have been there, but now... I'm healed." The scars that allow us to point to the healer and redeemer, Jesus Christ. We can now say as Joseph did in Genesis 50:20...

You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives.

If you are one of the walking wounded, I cannot 'fix' you. Only God, through His Son and the power of the Holy Spirit in your life, can do that.  But…I can come alongside you and encourage you. I can point to the hope that is within me…to the One who fixed me. I am not perfect. I still mess up, stumble, fall, sin…but I am redeemed! He is in the process of restoring me to the woman he created me to be…to walk out His purpose in my life. How very thankful I am for my Lord and Savior, who is my righteousness.  He is yours too!

The salve...God's Word                                                                                                       

Walk away from the lies of the enemy of your soul, the one who would have you remain in the pain of deep wounded-ness. Walk toward the truth of the Word of God, into the loving, faithful and healing arms of Jesus.  It's time to replace the lies of the enemy with the truth of God's Word (2 Corinthians 10:5).

Your story, wrapped in God, around His word, and what He has done in your life will safely lead women home. ~Jo Ann Fore

It's a process. A journey we must walk. Let the journey begin. Move into your calling as one healed to be a healer. We become over-comers when we use the words of our testimony.

They triumphed over him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony.  ~Revelation 12:11                 ~   

  Find your voice!

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God. ~ 2 Corinthians 1:3-4


 This is the last link-up for Find Your Voice, Make a Difference.