Pixabay<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\nEvery life has a story. Your story is hidden in your life. In every house, there are stories that go with that house. Some good, some not so good. But the stories of your life are what make you. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
They build you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Growing up for me meant growing up quickly to make sure everything and everyone was ok. I know, it screams the word codependency huh? My mom really struggled mentally. Back then highs and lows were not tagged or labeled with anything. We now know them as Bi-Polar.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It wasn’t easy, but to me, it\u2019s all I knew. I knew how to calm my mom and reassure my Dad. Dad worked over the road and was gone a week at a time and would call to check in to see if everything was ok at home.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
To add to the difficulty, my brother and mom had a tense relationship, so it only amplified the tension in our home.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I somehow decided if I could be a perfect kid and redeem the troubled waters hoping the atmosphere would be different. I was wrong. And I was exhausted with all that work at \u201cbeing a good girl.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
I really was a good girl but the exhausting part came from trying continually and being enslaved to letting someone down. My people-pleasing started young. The pressure did not let up even into my adult years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I was always preoccupied with disappointing someone about something. This was a hard road to travel on. Constantly in performance mode, my self-esteem plummeted even more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This affected me, I had a lot of healing to go through but I could choose if I wanted some of these things to define my life. They played a part in my life, but they would not define me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Your Story<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
You and you alone determine the chapters you park on and stay with<\/strong>. I would love to set a match to some of mine but why?<\/p>\n\n\n\nWhat if we didn’t share the painful ones or the ones we regret. Who could we help?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We don’t have to live in the shame or pain of them<\/strong> but letting others see how God worked through them.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\nInviting others into your story lets them know they are not alone in their story.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If I sit down to watch a movie it matters to me if it has a good ending. Life has lots of pain so I at least like my movies to end well. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
We win in the end with God.. My thinking is He likes good endings too. Which is why we can’t hide the messy middle. <\/strong>The middle shows that we are all in process.<\/p>\n\n\n\nMy experience with people over the years has let me know that every story doesn’t have a good ending. Not all of mine have and chances are not all of yours have.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Some have very painful endings. Endings of regret. Regrets that they wish they would have said, I am second. Not first. Not all consumed with self-centered thinking. Self-serving agendas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We always have the opportunity to observe the stories of others and what they have gone through. Do they have peace? Do they have good relationships? Or, do they have a wake of brokenness behind them or around them. Do they have a teachable heart and attitude about life?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It is nearly impossible to have a relationship with someone that is all consumed with themselves<\/strong> because there will be no room for you.<\/p>\n\n\n\nMary, Joseph and Jesus<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
I think about Jesus as a baby and there was no room for him in the Inn. Just a manger dropped in the dirt, surrounded by dust…<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Mary and Joseph didn’t let their situation determine their destination.<\/strong> It was what it was and they would grow through it and go through it.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\nThey were viewed just as regular people that screamed normalcy. Who knew Mary was carrying God besides her and Joseph?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
So many times, we want our story to be different so we can look different to a watching world. We want a cleaned-up version.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\nThe version where they can call \u201ccut\u201d in-between scenes<\/strong> and the hair and makeup people can come in and dab the sweat off our brows, re-fluff that hair so we are \u201ccamera ready.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\nThis is not what happens when we move from scene to scene through the stories of our lives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Sometimes, it\u2019s a bloody scene. Sometimes, it\u2019s a scene of failure. Sometimes a scene of success that only you and God sees. Sometimes it\u2019s a repentant scene that causes you to bawl your eyes out and your heart is cleansed making it possible to see and hear again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Biblical Story<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
The disciples were put on display as they struggled, failed, and succeeded. As they exercised their faith privately, God grew them publicly. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n