The older I get the more I have come to realize the importance of telling your own story. Whether it’s written in a journal, a newspaper or documented some other way, it is important to tell about the little dash that’s between the dates. You know the ones – the date of when one is born and the date of when one dies.
It’s funny how we remember those dates but what about that little dash and all the stuff in between.
When it is all said and done, that little dash won’t be able to tell your story. It doesn’t tell how you spent your precious time. It doesn’t tell your real worth in that small dash line. So, you need to tell your story while you still can.
I love how everyone’s story is unique. Just like every soul is one of a kind. No one can tell your story quite like you can because no one knows the details like you do. No one knows the joys you have experienced – whether through the birth of your children or the wonder you felt during a particular time in your life.
Like the time when I sat on a beach in Georgia years ago as the sun rose over the ocean I rarely had the privilege of seeing. As I pondered all the changes that happen in our lifetime, like the crashing waves upon the shore, each bringing in something and taking it back out. As I sat there in awe of my finite life, I remembered another moment in time when I had watched my young children play on the Florida shores, seeing the ocean for the first time and trying to grasp how small we were compared to it.
It’s funny how certain frames of time remain frozen in your memory. I guess, so you will remember to add them to your story because no one remembers the details more than you do or the feeling that you had in that moment.
I remember sitting above the Grand Canyon and looking down and across its vast terrain. I felt like a flake of dust in the wind – so finite yet significant enough that my Creator still knows my name. As I gazed at this wonder of the world, I wondered how anyone could doubt His greatness and existence.
I believe we need to tell their story because no one will remember the pain or the price you paid to live your truth either. There are so many misunderstandings and yet miracles along the way. You learn to trust in your Maker and you find your way as you walk out your journey day by day.
No, life is never easy but it is an incredible journey worth telling. You just keep walking, learning and leaning on a power greater than you. You have been on top of the mountains and you have walked through many lonely valleys. You have smiled at the breathtaking sunrises and cried as you watched the fleeting sunsets and realized your days are numbered. But each time you are reminded that life is beautifully complicated and you find a way to tell your story because it matters. You matter.
So, don’t wait to tell your story. It may seem raw and real at times, but trust me, it is relevant. One day, someone will want to know your story and no one will have been able to tell it quite as well as you. Your life definitely has a purpose and hopefully you will pursue it while you can. Then don’t forget to tell it and even pen it for all the world to see and read. Your story is important – so tell it while you can.
