What Story Do I Want to Tell?

March 27, 2011

We enjoyed a great time together with our Sunday School families at the College Hills Elementary School Playground this evening after church. It is always fun to have the opportunity to visit with our Sunday School family. Today, several of our families were able to enjoy a picnic and the kids had a great place to run, climb, and play in the sand while we visited. Thanks to all of you who were able to join us. We will be scheduling other activities in the near future.

As I mentioned this morning, I have been remiss in recent months in keeping this blog updated. I have been doing consultant work in many different locations. Even though I will still be spending time in Beaumont at Lamar University teaching a School Law class, my travel schedule should slow down for a while. Therefore, I hope to get back in the saddle and keep the blog updated. I trust that it helps you to keep up with our class discussions and with our class activities.

Last week, we began a new series with Andy Stanley called “Your Move: Four Questions to Ask When You Don’t Know What to Do.” The first question identified last week was, “Am I being completely honest with myself?” This week’s question is, “What story do I want to tell?’ Andy Stanley says that when people tell their life stories, they condense large chunks of their lives into just a few sentences. Decisions that at the moment seem so large and complicated will later be nothing more than a line or two in the stories we tell. What do we want those stories to say?

In every transition and every decision-making environment, we’re writing the script for that story. Our stories have already developed in a certain way up to this point. But often, as we face new decisions, new obstacles, or new opportunities, we forget to connect it to our pasts. We forget to ask, “Which of these choices best fits my story so far?” In the future, you want to be able to tell your whole story honestly and not feel forced to skip or disguise any parts.

The biblical story of Joseph in the Old Testament illustrates these life-story dynamics. Joseph faced dilemmas he could never have expected, and at times he was forced to choose between no-win options. In extremely difficult situations, he made choices in harmony with a consistent pattern in his life of God-centered integrity and faithfulness. Joseph was later rewarded for this.

We, too, can look at God’s providential care in our lives up to this point, and make choices now that fully align with what God has already done for us. In contrast with Joseph, his brothers were forced to live a lie for many years because of a tragic choice they made and to see their father’s broken heart as a consequence of it.

Every decision you make becomes part of your story. What is the story you want to tell? Will it be, “I cast my care upon my heavenly Father, and I obeyed God to the best of my ability?” Remember, your kids are watching you make many of these decisions and your story will, to a large degree, be their story as well.

Write your story well—and live your story well—because in the future you want to be able to tell the whole story. What you do now really does matter.