During my senior year at Luther College, I took a class where we read personal stories from those who were incarcerated. Reading about their experiences of being in prison gave me a new perspective about their individual stories rather than generalizing them based on what they did.
I have been thinking about that class a lot lately after finishing a memoir last week called The House of My Mother by Shari Franke. I was left in awe of the author's vulnerability in sharing some of the most difficult and dark times of her life.
In the last few years, I have become more comfortable with sharing parts of my story that are more difficult to share, especially my parents divorce and the difficult relationship I have with some of my family members. By no means is it easy, but it has made me grow closer to some important people in my life and to God.
Brené Brown, in her book Rising Strong: The Reckoning, says, “The irony is that we attempt to disown our difficult stories to appear more whole or more acceptable, but our wholeness—even our wholeheartedness—actually depends on the integration of all of our experiences, including the falls.”
What I love about this quote is that it is a reminder to us about the value of even the most difficult parts of our story. As followers of Jesus, we also have the reassurance that no matter what we do, nothing can separate us from the love of God. Romans 8:38-39 says, “For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.” This scripture is reassuring because we know that in all parts of your story, God never leaves you.
Are there ways that you can share your story with others, even the most difficult parts? Are there ways that you have seen God working even in the most difficult parts of your story?
Always sharing,
Pastor Nicole