My name is Sarra Hudson. I am a human interest addict.
Like, serious junkie.
I’m the kind of person that walks into a library or book store and is immediately depressed at the thought that I will never get through every story on the shelves.
I love a good story. Fiction or nonfiction. Written word or documentary on Netflix. I love it all!
Interviewing people face to face, and hearing how their life has unfolded and what they’ve learned along the way is a balm to my soul.
Sometimes walking through a crowd of people I wonder what each person passing me would have to say about their greatest triumphs and joys. Or what their biggest regret in life would be and what it has taught them. I’m a firm believer that every person has a story to tell.
So why is it so hard to tell our own story?
Sitting at my computer to share the lesson I took from the day or something God has revealed to my heart is paralyzing. I just can’t seem to conjure up the words to say it correctly. Or my point seems lost in rambling. I can sit and look at the blank screen, unsure of where to even start. Sometimes I type out a few sentences and then quit, immediately doubting that what I have to share is worth even putting out there.
Why do we find it so hard to open up and put on the page who we are and where we are at in our journey?
I don’t think it’s coincidental that Jesus spoke in parables. I think He knew how our heart responds to a good story and the life lessons we can glean from them. But not everyone understood what He was trying to say. Even those closest to Him didn’t always get the point, and they would later bring up His parable in private conversation.
In Mark 4, after Jesus shared the Parable of the Sower with the crowd, the disciples asked Him to explain.
“When he was alone, the Twelve and the others around him asked him about the parables. He told them, “The secret of the kingdom of God has been given to you. But to those on the outside everything is said in parables so that,
“‘they may be ever seeing but never perceiving,
and ever hearing but never understanding;
otherwise they might turn and be forgiven!’
Those nearest to Jesus, listening to His every word, didn’t always understand what He was preaching at the time. It would be sometime later that many of His lessons to them would be recalled and applied.
So why do we feel that every life lesson we share should be life changing for every reader, when even our Lord didn’t minister to the heart of every person in every parable?
Our life is playing out in a story. And what we have to share may not apply to everyone at that moment. But if we feel we are led to share our testimony, if we feel someone at some point can benefit, we should gain freedom in writing it out and giving our words to the world.
If we wait until all our lessons are learned and our lives are put together, someone else will be sharing our story after we are gone.
I recently came across a movie quote (even though I don’t recommend the movie), from Sandra Bullock’s character in 28 Days. I shared it with my daughter as she graduated this year, and goes off to begin a new story of her own.
“Don’t be someone else’s slogan. You are poetry.”
Our journey is ours and ours alone. No one can dictate how we have felt about, responded to, or the lessons we’ve taken from each and every event on our timeline. But we were also made for community and being open enough to share our lives with others, written or verbally, is part of our faith journey.
Every person has a story. And I’m dying to hear yours!
tenand2 
Well said!
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