Don’t you find, more often than not, an ending is needed for new beginnings? We can’t start a new chapter or season in our lives until the old has passed. I was thinking about a conference Chris and I attended many years ago. It was appropriately named Storyline, and it was the title that caught my attention. As a newly invested writer, I’d thought it might benefit me. But what I took away from that weekend in Santa Barbara, California, went so much deeper than another workshop on the craft of writing, which is what I’d expected. It gave me a tremendous confidence boost in the knowledge that God is truly in every detail of my life and has been from the day I was born. I realized that if He’d been that invested in me, even when I hadn’t yet surrendered my life to Him, how much more was He when I had? He who began a good work in you will carry it on until the day of completion in Christ Jesus. Philippians 1:6.
How many people do you know (and maybe it’s you) who are unable to forget past hurts? It may be something as insignificant as an unflattering comment made in passing or as difficult as an abuse or betrayal that left deep-seated scars. I know people who carried anger and unforgiveness to the grave, and it benefited no one in the least—especially them. The ability to forgive is one of the hardest things to do, and yet, what we are commanded to do in light of the price Jesus Christ paid for our own sins to be forgiven. What I learned at the Storyline conference impacted my ability to look past the past and see that God used it all in order to write the story of my life. It’s how we choose to respond that’s the critical component.
I challenge you to try this for yourself. Draw a timeline charting your life. If you’re like me, it might take you some deep meditation and thought in order to remember key components. Break it down in easy chunks. 0-5 years old; 6-10; 11-15; 16-21, etc. Above the line, mark out the positives in your life (even if you now see them as negatives). For example, I would mark my first wedding day as a positive, although in retrospect, not so much. Beneath the line, mark the negatives. Once you have it all drawn out, I encourage you to pray that the Holy Spirit will reveal to you how God was working in each of these events, because the next step is where I had my big AHA moment.
Study each of your negatives and think about how they impacted your life. What negatives might have led you to a positive? If I were to pick a significant negative in my life, it would have been when my first husband abandoned me. But because of that, I was so broken, I surrendered my life to Christ, desperate for Him to take control. Then God led me to Chris, who is, by my estimation, the world’s greatest husband. If not for him, I wouldn’t have quit teaching to try my hand at writing, which had been a childhood dream. But there were also a lot of small, seemingly insignificant negatives in my childhood that were the catalyst for other parts my story. These are where we are able to see that God redeems all the hurts, loss, grief, and pain in our lives for our good and His glory.
In the aftermath of this exercise, I realized God allows, and sometimes orchestrates, the negative things in my life so He can lead me into the story He’s already written for me. We may not be so good at following His lead, or listening to His still, small voice, so we go our own way. Rather than hold onto unforgiveness for something someone said or did to me in the past, I can now see that God was using them as a tool for my benefit. Think of Judas Iscariot’s betrayal of Jesus, or Joseph’s brothers selling him into slavery, or Pharaoh’s hardened heart with Moses. No, I am not comparing my life to that of Jesus, Joseph, or Moses, but I’m using them to make a point. God will use even the wicked and evil to implement His plans.
The Storyline chart did something more than open my eyes to God’s redemption to every hurt and betrayal in my life for my own good, it left a real visual for how wide open the future is. No matter what today brings, we always have tomorrow until He calls us home. The real question is, what do you want your story to look like five, ten, or even twenty years down the road? What dreams have you put on hold? What do you feel God calling you to that you may be too afraid to step out in faith to achieve? Open your heart and eyes to the possibilities, and then trust that God will work out your storyline.
Comments 6
I appreciate that you give solid Christian content along with excellent writing craft insights.
I don’t always take the time to read your blog but boy am I blessed when I do. Each one has something that resonates with me to ponder on and reflect in my own life. Thank you for your writings, God has truly blessed you with the gift of words and meaningful insight.
Author
Thank you so much, Karen. You are a blessing to me!
This is a n insightful and practical exercise. I’ve done similar storylines, but never tracing negative to see how it led to a positive. Thanks for sharing!
I’m so thrilled to have found your books and your blog, through my husband and I spending our 29th Anniversary in Orange Beach. Your writing and your “realness” are blessing my heart!!
Author
What a gift to hear from you, Freda. Thank you for your sweet words. It blesses my heart.