Early Lessons from Sharing My Story

Last week I shared about how God has been using my time in Kentucky to call me to share my story more. As I have attempted to do that through conversations in person and by writing this blog, God has been teaching me about myself, Himself, and how He works in our stories. I want to share a few of those thoughts with you today.

1. The Power of Prayer:

Maybe not surprisingly, when I pray for opportunities to share before I meet with people, God often answers my prayer by providing a clear opportunity and the boldness that I need. The prayer brings me peace and reminds me of why I share - to praise God for all He has done in our lives and to tell others about the healing power of Jesus.

2. It’s Not Just About Sharing:

God doesn't open a door to share every time I pray about it, but He does bless my willingness. My story is not my identity and God's light shines forth from each of us when we are open and willing with what He would have us do. I am learning the hard-won faith, wisdom, and character born out of our suffering is apparent and encouraging to others even when we don’t get the opportunity to share with words. I can be discerning about when, where, with whom, and how I share because God works in all kinds of ways.

Denali National Park 3.5 weeks before Oliver was born.

3. Sharing Helps Us Not Feel So Alone:

Not wanting to be the one sharing something sad when everyone else had only happy things to share has kept me from sharing in the past. But as I opened up more, I realized that everyone has things they are struggling with and are longing to share while also feeling uncomfortable sharing. When I share, I end up not feeling so alone in my struggles and suffering, and the people I share with don’t feel as alone either. Instead they often feel comfortable sharing themselves, and the Lord blesses us both. When we share we are participating in God’s work in the church. In 2 Corinthians 1:3-4 Paul reminds us: "Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God." When I share my story, I am receiving God's comfort and passing it along.

4. Pain Can Be Healing:

People don’t always respond the way I want them to when I share, and often the sharing triggers memories and feelings in me that I would rather avoid. However, I am learning just because it is painful doesn’t mean it isn’t healing. Rather grief that is stirred and brought to the forefront is felt, processed, and exposed to truth, which leads to healing.

5. It is God Who Does the Work:

I can share with confidence knowing it is God that does the work in my heart and others, and He doesn't judge success in the same way that I do. Just because I feel pain or the situation is awkward or the number of blog views is low, doesn't mean God isn't at work. The Holy Spirit is always at work in each of us, and His ways are varied!

6. Sharing Is Healing and Joy-filled:

While I do experience pain as I share, I have also been surprised at how joy-filled and healing the creative process required to share a story is. When I challenge myself to write another paragraph of a blog post, to figure out how to add a subscribe button and enable comments, or to gather pictures from the week or saved on a harddrive, the creative process pushes away the anxiety and pulls me forward into something new. My brain gets a workout, and I have things to look forward to.

I don't know what God's plan is for this blog, my writing, or my in-person sharing, but it is exciting to see God at work and challenging me in new ways. I look forward to continuing to share here and watching God at work in me and in others through my story of loss, healing, and a God who never stops working on our behalf.