The Story of Our Lives

As Marcia and I enjoyed a lunch together over the weekend our conversation turned to me telling some stories from my childhood.  It’s amazing to me that after almost 34 years of relationship there are still untold stories of deep impact we can still share with each other.  I am so thankful for a loving and patient partner and friend who will still listen to me tell stories.

I have been doing a lot of reading lately about leadership development and mentoring.  These are the core issues I am researching in my pursuit of further learning at Fuller Seminary.  One emerging theme in the reading is the profundity of Story in our lives.  We learn from hearing the stories of others and we process by telling our own stories. 

When I reflect on my life and the ways I have been impacted most, I think more about stories I can tell and less about spoken words I can remember.  One class I took at Fuller that transformed the way I look at life was focused on creating a timeline of my life.  I wrote about my early childhood and the influence of my Christian family.  I remembered the way decisions I made and responses to circumstances in early adulthood shaped my character.  I cataloged experiences that led us to join Adventures In Missions and all the ways I grew in faith and as a person throughout the evolving responsibilities involved.  All along the way the narrative of marriage, fatherhood, and even grandfather-hood influenced my overall story.  Viewing this timeline through the lens of God’s supernatural work I was able to see His activity in molding the very essence of who I am through the story He is writing within me. 

What story has God written in your life?  What is the continuing narrative He is building on day in and day out deep inside as you navigate the ups and downs of life?  Who are you becoming as your story continues to be written?  The decisions you make today and how you respond to the intimate details of life in its entirety become pages on the book telling the story of your life.  The Creator of the Universe has a beautiful story in mind when He thinks of you.  How we process and respond will go a long way to writing a compelling story-book marked with His hand on every page.  

It has been said that if you want to know what is important to someone, look at their checkbook and their calendar.  Those things certainly tell a story.  I’ve discovered another way to evaluate my life and I think it tells a story all its own.  Go to your favorite web browser and put in each letter of the alphabet and see what website comes up first.  Mine are below:

Amazon.com (Prime membership and my favorite shopping experience)

Basecamp.com (Project management site)

Capitalone.com (Visa!) and Craigslist.com (farm and garden)

Delta.com (When am I leaving?)

Ebay.com (Can I get it cheaper?)

Fuller.edu (for the next 4 years!) and Facebook.com (duh)

Gainesvilletimes.com (any interesting local news?)

Hotwire.com (cars and hotels)

Kayak.com (Can I get there cheaper?)

Mapquest.com (How do I get there?)

NFL.com (Fantasy Football Research)

Pourinternational.org (Releasing Streams of Hope for Life)

Rover.com (dog sitting service)

Suntrust.com (banking)

Timbalicrafts.org (Beautiful products, inspiring women)

USPS.com (we stop our mail. a lot)

Weather.com (what should I pack?)

Yahoo.com (personal email)