What is your story? Everyone has a story. All of our stories start the same way and then take very different paths as time moves forward. They all take twists and turns, have highs and lows, with different characters and agendas. We are the authors of our stories. There is a beauty in that fact, but it’s also a bit scary because it means we get to choose how we react and respond to the events that happen to us and the people who come into our lives.
Everybody Has a Story
One of my favorite things I’ve seen on TV was back in the late ’90’s through the early ’00’s. It was a series on “60 minutes” with correspondent Steve Hartman called “Everybody Has a Story”. In the segments, Steve would throw a dart backwards at a map. Anywhere the dart hit, he would go. When he arrived in the town, he would find a phonebook (remember those?), open it, and blindly point to a name on the page. If that person agreed to be on the show, they would talk to them and find their story. There were such amazing stories that came out of those conversations. These were just ordinary people, picked randomly, and given a platform to reveal their stories. Evidently, the crew spent the first day being with the people to discover what they had to share. Often the person didn’t realize they had a story. It is probably the same with you.
Chapters In Our Lives
All of our stories begin with chapters that depend very little on us. Our families and those our family interacts with speak into our lives. Their actions and comments probably don’t impact us in those early years, unless there is physical abuse or neglect. As we get older, though, abusive and hateful words and actions will impact us increasingly more. As children, we have very little we can say or do to make it stop. We simply soak in the comments and identify with them. As we move into our teenage years and adulthood, through maturity and learning, we can make choices to fight the words being thrown at us. That is one of the most significant choices anyone who has been abused can make.
I believe THE most important part of our lives is deciding what we will believe and how we’ll live. Some choose to live following their own feelings, while others will choose to follow God, and still others will go with whatever they want to do at any given moment. Every choice we make will direct our lives. In those choices, we make a difference in the world for better or worse. We write our story with every breath we take, every person we speak to or ignore, and every time we decide to do the right thing or not. Our lives interconnect, overlap, and intertwine. Through it all, we make a difference in the world, even if it’s just our small part of the world.
Everyone has a story to tell. What’s your story?
~ Joanna Lynn
I do agree. That’s one reason why I blog, to tell stories of my life.
And I’m so glad you do. Your blog posts are very enjoyable to read. I’m praying I can find more margin in my life so I can get back to reading others’ posts on a regular basis as well as posting more often. I’ve really missed my blog friends in this stage I’ve been in while I’ve been driving for Uber and Lyft. I’ve simply lost margin in my life and I’m reevaluating life a bit right now.
Thank you so much Joanna. I am sure you’ll get back to it more inspired to share.