"Then I said something that caught his attention. I said his daughter was livingThese lines, by Donald Miller in his book "A Million Miles in a Thousand Years", set up a story about a conversation that changed a family's life. After talking about what makes a good story, the dad decided to quit yelling at his daughter about her poor choices and provide a better story for their family and invite her into that story. The new story was one that was out of the ordinary, one that had risk, sacrifice, and adventure. I won't spoil the story for you, but I will give you this warning. If you read it, it's quite dusty and could cause your eyes to get irritated and start watering...
a terrible story."
Reading this has happened to coincide with a visit from some old friends of ours, Jim and Linda (and their 3 sweet daughters). They are a family who decided to live a better story. About 5 years ago they decided to leave the comfortable American life and became Missionaries in Sub Saharan Africa. They are part of a media team that puts together information to educate people about the needs in Africa, and they also minister to street kids in the slums near their home. It's not easy, it's not some romanticized version of a missionary life. They have just as many negative turns in their story, as there are positive ones. But still it's a better story. Even after days where it seems like no one is listening or seeing more need than one family can hope to fill in a lifetime, they can still look at where they have made a difference and know that theirs is truly a good story. It's been a good visit to talk with them, and I can tell that they are eager to get back to Africa - back to the story God has invited them into.
As for me, I have a feeling that my own story will change soon. There has been an inciting incident already, now we just have wait and see how the main character and the Author of all our stories work things out from here....
2 comments:
Such a beautiful way to view life and how God created it to be. I am so grateful that Jesus loves us and calls us to a fresh life in Him.
I'm curious as to what your new opportunity is?
So would I! :) At this point all I know is that I have no future where I'm at currently. So it's a bit of an emotional rollercoaster. Somtimes I'm sad because of my current situation, and sometimes I get excited about the possiblity of stepping into a better story. I'm praying that God will open the door to something better, and that I will have my eyes open when it happens!
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