"I AM A BELOVED
CHILD OF GOD,
DESERVING OF RESPECT,
AND GOD WILL USE ME
TO CHANGE THE WORLD."
My Dad posted this affirmation on his bathroom mirror.
It was how he was retelling his own story to himself, every day reminding himself how precious he was.
I learned from him how the stories we tell ourselves strengthen resilience.
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Click the button to read about how my Dad's death catalyzed my commitment to guide others to find courage by listening to their own life stories...
“Story is the narrative thread of our experience—
not what literally happens, but what we make out of what happens,
what we tell each other, and what we remember.”
Christina Baldwin, Storycatcher
MY STORY PATH
Story and Journey are my two favorite metaphors for talking about what it means to be alive.
Journey: because we all start somewhere, in some situation,
and as we "make the road by walking,"
life takes us places we never could have imagined.
Story: because human beings are story animals.
As soon as we learn language, we are narrating what happens to us,
trying to place the events and experiences of our lives
within frameworks of meaning.
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In nearly fourteen years of ordained pastoral ministry in a church congregation,
six of those years as a certified spiritual director,
I've been privileged to listen and share many stories.
I've come to believe our life stories, and the way we tell them,
are a matter of life and death.
We live well and die well
when we can know and share the story of our life
with God and with those we love.
Our story legacy is a gift that keeps giving long after we're gone
to enrich the next generation with hard-earned wisdom and companionship on their journey.
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