Each of us have a story, and it is our unique thumbprint on the world. To live a truly courageous and inspired life, we must be vulnerable enough to tell our story – the one with wrinkled pages and grammatical errors. It takes courage to be honest and share with others from the deepest places in our heart. When we are willing to tell our story, it is as if we are lifting our open arms up to God, saying, “use me, expose my inner soul hurts and give me the tenderness to reach out to others who are hurting.”
Sharing your story is not about giving people a play-by-play account of all of your worst experiences. Rather, it is more like using those experiences to relate with a compassionate understanding to others who may be going through something similar. When we experience pain, adversity or suffering, we grow. Seasons of growth are often met with fear, anger and sadness, and yet, we come to know God deepest in our brokenness. There is healing for both the story- teller and the listener when we share.
Not everyone is going to benefit from the hearing of your experience. There will be people who do not want to hear what you have learned through suffering. Some people are uncomfortable with anything that touches them on an emotional level because it may require them to face their own truths. Perhaps they are not ready. If you are willing to share, make sure you have the right audience.
Woven into the tapestry of our lives are little nuggets of wisdom from every corner, twisting and twirling around us – shaping us, uniting us with our purpose. Jesus was a mover and a shaker. He stirred things up wherever he went, because his teachings were unlike anything people had ever heard. He taught about breaking the shackles of religious law and old tradition and that man should instead, be focused on heart work and relationships.
As a young outreach pastor, I often faced grumbling in the Church for being unconventional. When I invited a group of homeless people one Sunday, I was scolded, “Church should be a safe place for Churched people!” But there was something in my own unique tapestry of life experience that birthed in me a compassionate understanding for “the least of these“. Somewhere, my story intersected on an emotional level with the stories of the despised, unwanted, marginalized. Perhaps it was the experience of being a female pastor in a traditionally male-dominated career and the suffering and isolation it caused me to experience.
When we open ourselves up to be used by God, through the vulnerability of saying, “Yes, God“, His hand will pick us up out of our comfort zone and place us in unfamiliar territory. Jesus was a traveler. He went about his way, walking, talking and preaching. In the end, He has been telling his story through man for over 2000 years.
Those who do mighty works for the Kingdom are those who have laid down fear and stepped courageously into their calling. They are willing to risk being judged, scorned, laughed at, gossiped about and betrayed to follow the prompting of the Holy Spirit. We cannot grow spiritually with one foot behind us, rooted in our comfort zone. “Jesus replied, “No one who puts a hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God.” Luke 9:62
When we are in the midst of living to share out of compassionate understanding, there will always be naysayers – people who want to hold us back, oppress us and keep us from fulfilling our own true course. Jesus said, ” If anyone will not welcome you or listen to your words, leave that home or town and shake the dust off your feet.” Matthew 10:14
Courage means having the wherewithal to do something that you know can be dangerous or difficult. When we muster the courage to tell our story, growth comes from seeing the way the sharing can calm the restlessness, fears, anguish, sadness and isolation of others. As you open yourself to this new experience, you will gain profound insight and nuggets of truth and wisdom about yourself.
Embrace the Truth.
Be Courageous Enough To Tell It.
Find Your Wings.
Don’t Be Afraid To Fly.
Don’t Look Back.
