Gratitude Part Two ~ the Story We Tell Ourselves

 

This week we are turning our attention toward gratitude.  This week we are exploring and examining where we are with thankfulness and appreciation, honestly naming if this is a struggle right now. 

 

I recently read that holding on to hope is a subversive action.  “Sub” – meaning beneath; “Version” as in the script or view from a point or a place where we stand.  We are given many scripts or “versions” in life.  We are told many stories.  One might be work hard, do your best, and all will be well in the end.  Or maybe the script is that life is tough so you gotta be tougher.  Or maybe the script is you gotta look out for number one.  Or maybe the script is love will find a way to win.  The story some people tell themselves is you gotta hustle and hurry to get ahead; that there are only so many resources out there so get yours now.  The story other people tell themselves is why bother?  The world is so broken and bruised, it isn’t worth fixing.  The story other people tell themselves is that if we could just do this action or convince those people of this truth all could be better.  The story we tell ourselves is what we consume and what consumes us.  All these scripts are variations of the versions we are taught and that are caught growing up.  Do you identify with those? 

 

Or how would you describe the script you are reading from in one sentence?

 

I don’t mean that question rhetorically. 

 

I will get to how the script of faith is subversive later this week.  But first we need to honestly and with open hearts acknowledge the script we are reading from in life.  The script influences our reactions and responses to words like, “Gratitude,” or “Love,” or “Faith”.  Your script is a filter through that narrative story we tell ourselves.

 

Pause today to ponder prayerfully the narrative arc of your life.  Do you see your life as a comedy or tragedy or series of random events?  Do you feel like the lead character or are others pushing you to the fringe and fray of your life? 

 

The narrative story you tell yourself matters and makes a difference ~ it is the home in which you dwell. 

 

I pray today that something above stirred your soul to wonder about the narrative arc in your life.  As always, I look forward to hearing from you.

 

Prayer: Co-authoring and collaborating Creator, help us understand in our minds, hearts, and souls the narrative that is guiding/governing our lives each and every day.  May this awaken us to a deeper awareness that my story is not the only story.