Still Editing God

 

Yesterday, I invited you to pay attention to the story you tell others about yourself.  How did that go?  Honestly?  Maybe you were cautious about selecting your words ~ not wanting to boast/brag/berate yourself.  Maybe you held back, not wanting to bring your fully beloved and beautifully broken self out into the light.  Maybe you didn’t have the energy to do this because we all live in a world that is exhausted, underslept, overcaffeinated, and overwhelmed.  Today, consider the stories you heard from your parents growing up.  Were your parents optimistic, pessimistic, or a little of both?  What about your relatives?  I remember I would go to family reunions with kin who were farmers.  And there was always too much rain or not enough rain.  My uncle especially loved to use some “salty” language about his vegetable garden.   Consider what narratives you caught from culture?  You are a mixture of what you’ve absorbed from others and the conclusions you’ve come to in life through your experiences.  Continue today to listen to the story you tell yourself about yourself.  Do you use words that are biting and bitter?  Do you tell yourself that if only others would listen, the world would be a Willy Wonka chocolate factory of joy?  Keep listening to the stories that define you.  Do you ever feel like your stories sometimes confine you?  I know I do!  What threads/themes do you see woven in your life?  List those.  Is there a rhythm that has been pulsing, a beat that has been playing all along in your life?  Does your life have a theme song or a soundtrack?  Let’s keep listening to the story we tell and hold that in the story of Christ, whose resurrection love teaches/tells us that brokenness is never the last word and that God is still editing our lives.  Amen.