Devotional - Wednesday, August 11th

Esther 4: 12-17



In the past few months I’ve been frequently reminded of the idea that each of us are living stories, stories within a greater story that connects everything God has and will create. Passages from songs, books, movies, and even T-shirts have caught my attention since I began focusing on this notion of “story”, the most prominent being the book “A Million Miles in a Thousand Years” by Donald Miller, a narrative centered on the idea of writing your life into a story worth telling. In the end when we sit with God and remember our life, will he tell us we have lived a good story, one he is pleased with? Donald predicts of a story well lived: “I’ll tell these things to God, and he’ll laugh, I think, and he’ll remind me of the parts I forgot, the parts that were his favourites. We’ll sit and remember my story together, and then he’ll stand and put his arms around me and say, “Well done,” and that he liked my story. And my soul won’t be thirsty anymore.”


Most of us have significant input into how our stories evolve and whether we write stories worth telling; I found this reflected in the account of Esther, specifically in her decision to risk her life in the chance she could protect the lives of her people. We can look to Esther’s story as an indication of what God is capable of doing when we choose to go from victims and bystanders to active participants that embrace conflict with courage and take the risk of trusting something beyond ourselves.


A good story doesn’t mean you have to travel across the world or become a leader of an organization; if we make the effort to look at every day and every moment as an opportunity to love people and love God I think we’re living a story that reflects the story of Jesus. Stories are also continuous, whether we are ten years old or ninety years old, characters continue to grow and there’s always more to be written. It is exciting to consider my life as a story, something God not only spoke into existence but also continues to whisper direction and opportunity into. However, not only am I writing stories for myself, my stories are also contributing to the greater story of all creation – a fact that requires accountability when we consider the impact of every choice we make.


I want to share one final quote by Donald, a statement I think deserves our consideration of how we have and will choose to write our lives in the face of a power fighting against a well written life:


“Part of me wonders if our stories aren’t being stolen by the easy life. There is a force in the world that doesn’t want us to live good stories. It doesn’t want us to face our issues, to face our fear and bring something beautiful into the world…I believe God wants us to create beautiful stories, and whatever it is that isn’t God wants us to create meaningless stories, teaching the people around us that life just isn’t worth living.”










A Four Fold Franciscan Blessing


Bless us with a restless discomfort about easy answers, half-truths and superficial relationships, so that we may seek truth boldly and love deep within our hearts.


Bless us with holy anger at injustice, oppression, and exploitation of people, so that we may tirelessly work for justice, freedom, and peace among all people.


Bless us with the gift of tears to shed with those who suffer from pain, rejection, starvation, or the loss of all that they cherish, so that we may reach out our hand to comfort them and transform their pain into joy.


Bless us with enough foolishness to believe that we really can make a difference in this world, so that we are able, with your grace, to do what others claim cannot be done.


Help us write stories worth telling, stories that go beyond ourselves, stories that make you proud.

Amen


Sara Malcolm