Living A Better Story

What kind of story do I want to live? Good question. I can honestly say that most of my life has been spent pondering this question. What do I want life to look like? How should I - -as the main character of my story -- look, act, feel, and dress? What kind of friends and what kind of job should I have to make this a really great story? A great story worth reading. So for the past 20 years or so the creation of a story that is seemingly worth others reading has been my story. And what I’ve realized is that the more time I spend taking the trails that others have gone, following the paths of those whose stories seem quite adventurous and fulfilling, I feel less and less like me. I was constantly trying to implement into my life what I admired in the lives of others, hoping that I could create this amazingly beautiful story worth living. It has created this hodgepodge of pseudo interests, halfhearted pursuits, and sometimes empty relationships. So there has been this stream of my story that has been filled with fleeting fulfillment in which I live out portions of others’ stories, too afraid to dream about my own.

But there has been this other parallel stream that has flowed in my life, in my real story. It has been the ongoing story of God. Now mind you, most of the time I have amnesia about this truth. But I catch glimpses of this storyline in my life as I have seemingly chance encounters with individuals who become close friends, experience community in unexpected places, and sense God’s hand guiding my life in inexplicable ways. It is in these moments where I feel very small and God feels big that I get a sense of where my story fits and where I am going. Last week, I had one of those moments outside of my favorite coffee shop in Clintonville. I didn’t need to keep looking around to everyone else’s story longingly, hoping that my story could look something like that, trying to implement what has brought joy and significance to them. No. The God of the Universe, who has shaped and formed me, has invited me to His story, to play a really cool part. One that has real significance and meaning. It can seem so much bigger than me, God so much more vital to the story than I, and this is all actually true. But what brings wonder and joy to me is that while I don’t have to be the glue that holds everything together, or the ultimate overarching story in this world, God has really been shaping and forming this story which is more authentic and fulfilling to me than I could have ever created by my own collage of others’ stories. This in no way takes my involvement out of the story writing. I have to jump on board with the story of God, follow its direction, and understand my part in it. But this looks much more like living in real community, loving the people that are in my life, and being thankful for what I have in the present. I want to live a life that is constantly aware of God’s overarching story and my intersecting with that. This is where it gets exciting. So I am choosing to live in the “sacrament of the moment,” where it all matters and all counts. I have vision and goals for my life, but the future must never control my present so much that I cannot be fully alive in the now.

I feel that the Living A Better Story Seminar would greatly benefit me as it would allow me to set aside a few days to hear from Donald Miller and others concerning how one becomes more intentional about the living of one’s story. This would also give me time to reflect more deeply on my current story. So often, I don’t take the time to think specifically about the direction that I am headed. I sort of just go from one thing to the next with a vague sense of purpose and aim. I would love the opportunity for a few days of interrupted time to learn more about this idea of living a better story and how it can shape my life towards a greater sense of adventure and meaning. I would like to hear about how we are to balance being a part of a bigger story (God’s) and yet making decisions for this story that we are living. I would also like to hear about and think more deeply about the challenges to taking risks and what keeps us from doing that.

Living A Better Story Seminar

Living a Better Story Seminar from All Things Converge Podcast on Vimeo.

Through Painted Deserts

I just finished reading Donald Miller's book "Through Painted Deserts." What an enjoyable read. It is the story of a road trip he took back in the 90's, sometime after high school. Miller is a really incredible storyteller. I think this is what drew me to this book and what kept me in it with anticipation. He invites you into the journey so that you feel as if you are traveling with Paul and himself in their '71 VW Minibus. But what makes it such a great read is the transparency of Miller's thoughts and their progression throughout the trip. I could certainly relate to the wonderings and questions he asked throughout the book concerning the why's of life and the world. Donald Miller let's you look into his mind and heart as he processes through his insecurity, admiration, fears, joys, and faith.

What has it changed in my thinking? I'm not sure except that some of my thoughts aren't that weird or strange. There are other people that analyze life and relationships as I do. There are others that ask questions like me. No one is as neat and tidy as we want to appear on the outside. That relationships are what really matter in this life. The people you love. Your family. your friends. Those that invite you into their lives. To appreciate simplicity and again realizing that TV commercials, movies, ads, and most of what we seem to pursue as important really has no real value. What other people think about us, what group or category we may seem to relate to the most. None of it really matters.

I want to close with an excerpt from the "Through Painted Deserts":

"... I will sleep beneath the stars and whisper thank you to the Creator of the universe, as a way of reacquainting myself to an old friend, a friend who says you don't have to be smart or good-looking or religious or anything; you just have to cling to Him, to love Him, need Him, listen to His story."