Are You Telling Your Story?

One of my favorite bloggers and someone I follow on Twitter is Rich Kirkpatrick (@rkweblog).  He's a worship leader out in California, and though I've never met him in person, I feel like I know him because he's pretty transparent in what he writes and tweets about his life.  Because his honesty and straightforward approach bless me, his example is a goal I strive for in my own blog. Well, he tweeted something this morning that really got me thinking.

"Your life is a story that needs telling."

I originally got started blogging about this journey to health and wellness I'm on because I had ten members of my family and core of friends suggest it to me within the same week.  I figured God was trying to get my attention about something at that point with so many people bombarding me with the request and perhaps I ought to listen.  When I started this blog at the end of June, I had no idea how it would go. But I'm sure God did.  I'm absolutely positive in fact.

Because here's what I've discovered while on this journey.  Rich is right!  Your life IS a story...and it DOES need to be told!

In response to the thinking and prayer that Rich's tweet propelled me to this morning, here was my own tweet:

"What if God allows us to go thru situations so we can empathize when others do? What if pain and hurt are just a chance to love and serve?"

I'm not saying that I am obese and suffer with arthritis because God wanted me to be able to empathize with others in this situation.  Nope.  I'm dealing with the consequence of choices I made...pure and simple.  BUT...because I AM going through the pain of arthritis, the joy and frustration of trying to learn and master an entire new  way of living that includes exercise and healthy eating...I am uniquely able to understand what others think and feel who are also going through this and perhaps are not quite as far on the journey as I am.  And I'm in a position to offer support and help.

If I tell my story.

And so, I do.  Because the way I figure it, the more honest I am with you about my successes...and my failures...the more you can learn from them and perhaps not make the same mistakes I've made...and hopefully, replicate the good choices I've made that are working.  That's my hope anyway.  That's why I share the stuff of my life here with you.  It's been so wonderful to hear back from many of you about the inspiration and motivation you've had from reading about what I go through.  I LOVE knowing that more people are active and making better food choices and speaking positivity to themselves because of experiences I've shared with you.  It makes the frustration and physical pain worth it somehow knowing that God has used it to speak to you and bless your lives.

But here's the unexpected blessing. Telling you my story in this blog causes me to understand it better myself.  It's almost like God is using this blog as yet another tool to cement this new way of life He's been creating in me.  Wow!  Thinking of it like that just convinces me more of my friend Rich's wisdom.  Your life is a story that needs to be told.  Not just so others benefit from it. But so that YOU can process it and see the hand of God at work in you and through you.

What about you?  Are you telling your story?  It doesn't have to be in a blog.  It can be person to person. Or maybe in a small group.  The important thing is to tell it!  I know this...I'd love to hear it!  And from my own experience, I can tell you for sure...you'll be blessed by doing it!