It seems like I've been in a season of stories here recently. I don't know if its just me, but it also seems like a lot of other people have been as well. As I sat in church this past Sunday morning, Kyle Idleman's sermon was based on stories. He was teaching about Hebrews 11, which is full of stories of heroes of the faith. Kyle said that many times when we describe our faith, we use language of feeling rather than something tangible. Hebrews 11 is full of tangible, real stories that demonstrate authentic faith in God. So when referring to faith, Kyle said "We know faith must be more than feeling, because if you're going to act in faith, God will call you to do things you don't feel like doing."
Kyle proposed the idea that we know faith is actually authentic when its tested. He goes on to say that "When I ask you if you have faith, what I'm asking for is a story." He also says that "faith always has a story attached to it."
I think faith always has a story attached to it because stories are such powerful tools for communicating concepts that cannot be understood any other way. Stories connect us in a way that nothing else can. Stories of faith are the story of God. As I've mentioned before, your story is my story and my story is your story because our story is God's story.
So to get to what I was actually intending to blog about today - here is the latest Community Corner editorial I wrote for the program I run at the Y. Its centered around - you guessed it - stories. More specifically, its centered around the idea that stories connect us to each other and build community. So without going on too much more, here's December's Community Corner:
I was watching the Today Show about a month ago while I was eating breakfast. They featured a story of a family from Arizona who had lost their daughter in a snowboarding accident the previous winter. A couple of YouTube videos that the 13 year-old girl had posted before her death showed that she had a very bubbly, loving personality. When hearing her parents speak of the accident, the pain and brokenness was evident in their voices. Why would such a tragedy take place to such a wonderful young person?
The family received what they believed to be an answer to this question the spring following their daughter’s death. The accident that had taken their daughter’s life had only affected her head and neck, so the family decided to donate her organs.
Meanwhile, a mother of two children was in desperate need of a new heart after she began experiencing heart failure at the age of 40. After receiving the heart, the woman began searching for the family from whom the heart had come. After some time, the families were finally able to connect. It was obvious that both the parents of the teen who was involved in the accident, as well as the mother who had received the heart, had tremendous love for one another.
By this time tears were running down my cheeks. My heart broke for the family who had lost their daughter. The joy of giving and redemption in how the teen’s heart gave new life to another brought on tears of happiness.
See, stories have tremendous power. In their truest form, they relate life in a way that we can all understand. They tell of heartache and fear, pain and tears, laughter and joy, life and love. They relate emotions with which we can all identify on some level. Stories tell us about community.
Community is built around stories. When we are open and honest enough to tell others of our trials and failures, as well as our successes and hope, we are allowing them into our lives in a more meaningful way. We are enabling our stories to intersect with others’ stories in such a way that neither person walks away the same. When I share my story with others, and others share with me, it is no longer my story or their story – rather it becomes our story.
A few weeks ago, our Y-CAP guys had the opportunity to share their stories with the group. This is always a day that changes and shapes the group in a way no other lesson could. The stories are powerful when they are shared with an audience who genuinely cares and wants to become part of that story. It was amazing to see guy after guy get up and tell stories of how disappointment, hurting and brokenness have been transformed into stories of hope.
There’s a reason why stories, when shared, go from just being about me to being about us. Our stories which tell of trials and end in redemption are the story of God. As humans, we live out God’s story every day as we are involved in the messiness of life, yet find redemption at the Cross. A recent article in Neue Magazine put it this way: “When we, any of us who have been transformed by Christ, tell our own stories, we’re telling the story of who God is.”
My story is your story and your story is my story because our story is God’s story.
As we enter the holiday season, take time to experience community by telling your story. Listen to others stories. Remember the ultimate story of redemption that began on Christmas, the holiday we celebrate to remember Jesus’ birth. It’s through this story of redemption that my story becomes your story and your story becomes my story. At the Cross, our stories intersect in the most meaningful way and lead to the truest form of community.
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