So many stories
I was thinking today about how we all have our story.
If I was standing waiting for the “walk” sign at a stoplight, and a perfect stranger asked me where I grew up, you would, “Outside of Palm Springs, in a little town called Sky Valley”. Ask my what my favorite color is, and I would say “pink”, cause I’m a tomboy that really likes girly things. Ask me the food I would eat above all other foods, if calories were not an issue, and I would say “baked mac-n-cheese hands down!” I would even tell you the story about how my husband Jessie and I met…..how he proposed, and all about our wedding and where we went on our honeymoon.
But these are stories that we all have readily available at any given time. What about your real story. How often are we truly transparent?
We hear stories all the time. We hear about how Paris Hilton went shopping at Prada, and how Sandra Bullock got divorced. Did you hear the one about the sharks seen down in San Onofre? Or maybe you heard the story about the amazing premature baby that came back to life with his mother’s touch, and calming words. As amazing as some of these stories can be, they are all distant. We can know stories of people we will never come in contact, yet not know about the people we see every single day.
Yeah, most of us have Facebook now, and we do our best to come up with clever status updates and comments that we hope people will comment on, or at least “like”. We try to appear happy, and content, posting things about the awesome day we had, and how life is good. If we are really desperate we post something about how bad our day was, hoping that someone will simply reply back with an “I’m sorry your day was a bummer”. We want people to care, we want people to hear, we want to tell our story. Why don’t we? Maybe we are just too darn scared!! There can be risk involved in showing the true you. But, a true friend will recognize, and celebrate the honesty shown in you being REAL!
We all have our own unique story. The path that God has led only us down. Every path is a little bit different. Every path is filled with love, hate, faith, doubt, ups, downs, success, failure, and everything in between. Oh how I long for us all to T-R-A-N-S-P-A-R-E-N-T!
You have a story to tell. I want to hear it. If you want to tell me, I am here! Life is boring when all you do is listen to your own!
Have a seat
Jessie took this picture of a man at the Grove in L.A. How could I resist writing about it. The picture is perfect.
You would expect this man to be in a field somewhere, resting his head, under the shade of a huge oak tree. Or sipping lemonade on his porch swing watching the day pass by. You wouldn’t expect to find him on a bench in front of my favorite, albeit overpriced store (Anthropologie), at this bustling shopping center in L.A. But there he sits. He was tired, so he took a moment to rest
I need to learn to
Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Matt. 11:28
rest wherever I am and wherever I need to. Not necessarily to stop and take a nap. I’m talking about taking a moment and resting in Jesus. Stopping everything and just taking a break. It’s not laziness. We aren’t made to strive all the time, trudging through the day to day. It’s not laziness, we were made to rest! The sun goes down everyday to give us a better environment for rest than any blackout shades could ever provide!
So, this old man reminds me to take a load off whenever I need it. Granted, he may be taking a nap, but maybe, just maybe he was praying? You never know!
She has given more than all of these
It was a Saturday night at Refuge. A church service just like any other. Jessie was at his usual post; the sound booth. You can see everything from up there.
He peered over to his right to see a woman who was obviously without a home. All of her belongings were in a cart she had pulled in to the sanctuary with her. She looked unkempt, but sat quietly.
After a few announcements, the offering bags began to be passed as the worship band played a song. My husband looked over at the woman as she reached into her cart. She pulled out a jar full of coins, emptied out half of them and put them in the offering bag. It gave him chills even as he retold the story. It is almost a carbon copy of the story told in the book of Mark, chapter 12.
41 Jesus sat down near the collection box in the Temple and watched as the crowds dropped in their money. Many rich people put in large amounts. 42 Then a poor widow came and dropped in two small coins.[a] 43 Jesus called his disciples to him and said, “I tell you the truth, this poor widow has given more than all the others who are making contributions. 44 For they gave a tiny part of their surplus, but she, poor as she is, has given everything she had to live on.”
Sometimes God’s Word gets lived out right in front of your eyes, when you least expect it! Keep your eyes open.