Telling our Stories

It seems that I spend most of my time these days telling stories.  As I continue to write my parting letters to my beloved Addison, I find myself wanting to tell her things that she may not know:  my high school graduation of one, my job as a tour guide, the time I almost got frostbite, how I felt when her Daddy (my Chris) asked me to marry him.  Stories.

I also have the privilege of being connected at heart level to some amazing young Austrian women.  One has found the love of her life and will marry next May.  One is a young Mom with a friend who needs help.  I don't have great wisdom to impart to my Austrian lovelies.  All I have is my ... stories.

Our stories are varied, aren't they?  I think that's why I love Facebook.  I can connect with those from my past, those who live far away, those who live down the street.  But the reason I want to connect is to hear their ... stories!

As I've shared my stories, I've shared things that aren't pretty.  That's what makes a story good. We can send our annual Christmas cards out with the highlights of what seems to be a perfect year but let's get real ... real life stories aren't always happy endings!  People get hurt, children rebel, cancer crashes into our lives, and depression stops us in our tracks.

Last night as we told our story ... (the love story that continues between one Christina Poe and one Chris Elledge ... to this young couple who plan on marrying next May) ... it described seasons of great joy followed by periods of unspeakable pain.  However, standing firmly on the premise that we were meant to be together, that our commitment to one another was one unshakable variable ... we moved forward.  We moved forward carrying these truths in our hands:  God loves us.  He is faithful and can be trusted.  It may have been hard.  It may have been so good we had to pinch ourselves.  Either way ... we've clung to these truths.

Stories.
What are your stories?
Who are you sharing them with?