Storytelling

By Stacy LaMorte

Storytelling is one of the oldest pastimes and ways to teach.  Jesus himself understood the importance of parables to get his lessons across in a way that listeners would be able to relate, remember and retell his word.

We all tell ourselves stories every single day.  “I’ll bet my boss thinks I am not pulling my weight, and I am the next to get laid off”; “All of my friends have nicer (insert material good here) than I do, and they are so much happier than I am”; or when we are feeling particularly insecure “Nobody likes me or wants to be around me.”

Recently I caught myself telling a story about going back to school during this pandemic that sounded something like this: “With all of our different possible schedules going back to school this year, it is going to be a logistical nightmare, and I am going to be stressed out all the time.”

This was putting me in a cranky mood for hours at a time when I let myself dwell on it.

We don’t know the facts yet. So, if I am going to tell myself a story, I am going to make it a positive, faith-filled one that relies on God’s grace and benevolence.

I tell my kids that if they are going to make up a story to tell themselves, at least make it a positive one!  That way, if you are wrong, at least you didn’t make yourself sick worrying about it before it came to pass.

What stories are you telling yourself that don’t come from God?