Once Upon A Time...

Storytelling....images...a dad sitting on a bed cuddling a daughter in those precious moments before turning off the light....friends around the campfire....a princess...a prince....a hero....a damsel in distress....a tale worth remembering and repeating at just the right moment.

I may have shared this quote before, but it is definitely one of my favorites:

"If a story is never told it becomes something else...forgotten."

Is the art of storytelling soon becoming a lost art?  I hope not.  I have several friends who are gifted story tellers.  I know others who should be.  

A life worth living is a story worth telling.  (Hey, I just came up with that one all by myself!!)  For the past 39 years I have lived in a story worth telling (I know, I am not 39, but my stories really began around then).  I have traveled around the world, lived in some incredible places and met so many awesome individuals and their stories are crying to be told.  

Conversations with my daughter as of late have resounded with "Let's tell our story....those stories you told at our bedside each night need to be heard."  She is incredibly creative and a communications major.....I need all the help I can get.  

This morning I read an interesting Scripture and saw something I hadn't seen before. 2 Kings 8:1-6.  Elisha, the prophet, had earlier prophesied over a Shunammite woman about the birth of a son, which she did have and later died. Elisha prayed and he was raised to life. (2 Kings 4)  In chapter 8, Elisha's servant is retelling the "story" to the king.  This woman shows up having lived in the land of the Philistines for seven years due to a famine Elisha told her to flee.  She has come back to reclaim her land and the servant tells the king, "this is the lady in the story".  Through the retelling of the story, this woman's life and land is restored.  

Hmmm...through the telling of our stories, lives can be rebuilt, hope is restored, passion is rekindled, faith is revitalized.

Our personal history is ours, it is a part of shaping our destiny.  It is a significant part of who my family is and is becoming.  We all have a story to tell.  And it needs to be told.  If anything, to passed down to our children telling of the faithfulness of God, lessons learned, mountains climbed, valleys walked and sorrows endured.  

I'm in the middle of an exciting adventure of writing with God.  It may take months -  hopefully, not years.  But I have years ahead of me (again hopefully) to share the adventures already had...the experiences and exploits yet to be lived....the stories just waiting to be told and not forgotten.  

Once upon a time....in a galaxy far far away....a young lady got on a plane in obedience to God's voice to her.....and discovered the GOD who has a story to tell and He wants to tell it through me...and you!

  

photo credit: iStock photo