The Power of "Story"... (don't miss this one)
Once upon a time, before technology and endless years of formal education had made us all so smart, and before we became preoccupied with material wealth, we learned who we are and what mattered most in our lives by living in communities, being interdependent and intertwined with the people around us.These people told us their stories; we told them ours. Though each story was unique, ultimately they were all the same. They remained united by these stories. The stories are still the same. Stories of hope and fear; pain and deliverance. These stories help us to know who we are and help us make sense of our own lives. Thus "our story" gives us hope.... and this hope heals our souls.Stories touches us because we can feel the storyteller's spirit in the telling. Stories help us make sense of our own experiences and move us beyond our fears, doubts, and preconceptions.Sadly, we don't listen to stories much anymore! In this era of instant communication, tweets, facebook, texts.... each limited in length... it's hard to feel the spirit of the teller.I learned a lot in universities, got degrees, and thought I knew a lot. However, the things that I have truly learned and now know, things that really matter, I have learned over and over again in my unconscious mind, in my heart and soul, in my bones, in my dreams, in that place beyond thought. That place where you hear the story!These things have been received spiritually! Not through the knowledge of men, but through the sharing of the "Spirit" that comes through the "Story"!!!!!A Love Story! A story of journey and discovery and intimacy! A story of relationship and experience that is beyond the ability of the mind to grasp, because it requires faith, beleif and love!You can't map out this journey before you start! That's why the stories of other sojourners is so exhilarating. Our journeys inevitably present us with things we can't understand---catastrophes, illnesses, traumas, losses, miracles, and unltimately physical death. Life is a journey of discovery, and the best way to make it is simple to take the journey....You live it!!!Where you are is probably where you ought to be. It's a place where you can learn something you probably need to know. Trust the process.... trust Him.I recently read a story of a recovering alcoholic who had lost his sight at twenty-eight. Bill Irwin decided he would hike the entire 2,167-mile Appalachian Trail. He wanted his journey to speak as a tribute to his faith --- his faith in his family, in himself and most of all his faith in God.In March of 1990, accompanied by his Seeing Eye dog, Orient, Bill left Springer Mountain, Georgia, on his way to Mount Katahdin, Maine. There were thousands of steps that could have been fatal. There were cliffs to fall over, bears, blisters, despair, pain, thirst, a broken rib, and blizzards. Bill said, "I don't care how many times I fall; I can always crawl to Maine."After eight months Bill Irwin became the first blind man to hike the entire Appalachian Trail. As he finished the last mile, eighteen members of his church sang "Amazing Grace."Blindness has nothing to do with physical seeing; it has to do with believing. Bill never saw the trail, he just took it. He didn't stick to the plan others preconcieved for the life of a blind man. He sought his own course, the one his spirit needed to follow. TAKE THE JOURNEY ---- IT DOESN'T MATTER WHAT YOU EXPERIENCE ---- ONLY THAT YOU CONFRONT YOUR OWN REALITY!!!!Your journey is a story worth living and worth telling!!!!