I can't help but wonder. I think my wife has helped train me this way. She reminds me that everyone has a story and it is difficult (if not impossible) to know who someone is without "sitting at their feet" to listen.
As I sit and eat my lunch at Wendy's on a break from class, I notice there are so many different people all around me. Painters, construction workers, business men/women, sweet old couples sharing a meal together, and some friends catching up over lunch. Looking around, it's easy for me to make assumptions...assumptions about who they are, what they do, and how they might live their lives. It's easy to fall prey to the inclination to judge a book by its' cover and before I know what I've done, assign some worth based on the title revealed on that cover. But, as I'm lost in some state of curiosity and wonder, I'm reminded there is so much more beneath the surface, something much deeper if I were to dare explore the depths of the soul.
There's a story beneath that cover and one I might never fully know. These characters could be in the middle of soaring mountain highs or in the midst of unspeakable valley lows. There is hurt and pain, joy and celebration, tears and suffering, love and hope within the pages turned. I don't know what their "walls would say if they could speak," but I know there is a word of hope even if they have not seen it written yet. There is hope because a new chapter is possible. There is hope because regardless the length of the individual novels, each ultimately finds context in a much larger narrative. There is another story longing to be acknowledged as intersecting their own...a story revealing that the lost are found, the broken are healed, the captive are redeemed, and the dead are raised to new life.
Our identities are shaped by our stories. So I hope when we see people, it's not just the cover that's important but the novel that is written inside. Thankfully there is one who is a greater author than I can ever be and has the power to rewrite all of life, making his story mine!
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6 comments:
Your are so lucky, you got to eat at Wendy's! Just Kidding!
I think that I struggle with "narrative therapy" because I do judge so many things by their covers. I am constantly being surprised by people.
You used to laugh at me when I said something like that as we were driving in the car. Now I am finally getting you to see things my way! J/K. But it is amazing. I never cease to be amazed at the stories people lay at my feet and the resilience they find as they encounter obstacles.
I have always admired the way you will just listen as people talk even if it means running late. I pray that we can continue to listen for these stories as we journey together.
I love you!
Sara
Mike,
Great post. Long time no talk! Hope everything is going well for your new ministry experience. I look forward to seeing you soon. Are you going to be in Orlando for Xmas?
Matt
Thanks for posting. "Story" is a great way to underscore that people are people and there's a LOT beneath all our surfaces. Thanks for the perspective.
Since you're in seminary... can I do some quick research? :)
Somewhere I read (maybe it was on Barna's site) that supposedly two-thirds of seminary students today are NOT planning to be "pastors" per se.
1. Have you heard this?
2. Is it true on your campus?
Just curious... hope you don't mind the left-fieldness of it!
I'm with Andy on this one. For some reason we feel like we have things figured out and that our story is the cosmic example by which things ought to be based. Every encounter is an opportunity to be taught by the book with a different cover. Thanks for the post!
You will be blessed beyond belief with this attitude. It is also so amazing to think about the incredible power of God to work in each of those lives and to bring just the right people together at just the right moments to accomplish His purposes.
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