Skip to main content

Stories

A few months ago, a friend of mine shared her story with our Bible study group. She fearlessly told her story to almost 100 women. Her journey began in a dark places and had many twists and turns; the kind that you can't wrap your head around. Her story was a compelling ride from despair to redemption. At the end, she encouraged each lady to be brave and share their story. She talked about how our stories have value and meaning and matter even if you are not fully healed. She discussed the story of the ten lepers from the Bible reminding us that we do not have to be healed in order to share our story or for our stories to have meaning.

Luke 17:11-19 says,

Now it happened as He went to Jerusalem that He passed through the midst of Samaria and Galilee. Then as He entered a certain village, there met Him ten men who were lepers, who stood afar off. And they lifted up their voices and said, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!”

So when He saw them, He said to them, “Go, show yourselves to the priests.” And so it was that as they went, they were cleansed.

And one of them, when he saw that he was healed, returned, and with a loud voice glorified God, and fell down on his face at His feet, giving Him thanks. And he was a Samaritan.

So Jesus answered and said, “Were there not ten cleansed? But where are the nine? Were there not any found who returned to give glory to God except this foreigner?” And He said to him, “Arise, go your way. Your faith has made you well.”

Let's talk about the lepers. People with leprosy were cast out during this time. They weren't allowed to be around common folk, let alone priests. But Jesus tells them to go anyway. He doesn't give them a reason. He just told them to go and they did. They did not know that their journey to the priests would bring healing but they went anyway. This may be you. Jesus is calling you to go and you are saying, "But I am not ready. I am not healed. I am unworthy. I cannot be used for I have no value." Jesus wants you to go in faith anyway. He will heal you along the road while you share your story; the story He has given you. You may not understand why He is telling you to go where He is or why He is calling you to be bold and share your story, but you can rest in knowing that there is healing in the journey. Even if you do not believe in this Jesus I talk about, still go and share your story. You have value and have no idea who you can help or how you yourself can be healed along the way. Miracles happen when we go even when we go with little or no faith.

Now, let's not ignore the latter part of the story. Ten lepers went but only one returned to give thanks. This is usually where pastors and Bible teachers park in this story. We cannot forget to give thanks and glory to God when we do find that healing we are searching for. While I find it absolutely imperative that we share our stories as they play out, I think it is equally, if not more, important to give thanks and glory where it's due: to God. The reason we live these lives and are given these stories is to share them and point people to God. Don't forget that.

So, the next time you feel completely unqualified to share your journey with someone, remember the lepers. They went to a place where they were banished and were healed along the way. Maybe your healing is awaiting your bravery today. Share your story. It has value.

Love & Blessings,
Meg

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Holy Holy

I can't stop singing, "Holy, holy, holy is the Lord Almighty." Scott and I went to the "big" ultrasound today where we tested to see if our baby had Down's, one of the Trisomy disorders, or any neural tube defects. I must admit the palms were a little sweaty and the heart was racing a bit. As surreal as this pregnancy is, I don't want anything to be wrong with this precious life inside of me. Well, holy is right. The Lord is not just good; He is awesome! Our little baby instantly began moving and grooving for us showing off fingers and toes and a great heart beat! Even though I am on my third, watching the miracle of life on that screen NEVER gets old! It truly blows my mind every time I get to see our precious angels developing inside of me! The scan came out wonderfully. We got all positives on all the scans the doctor (who was absolutely INCREDIBLE) could do. Now we just wait for some blood work to confirm that everything is okay with our little boy. ...

Our Miracle

"He performs wonders that cannot be fathomed, miracles that cannot be counted." Job 9:10 "You are the God who performs miracles; You will display Your power among the peoples." Psalm 77:14 Meet our miracle...and our secret. Yes, it is true. I am pregnant; about twelve weeks and a few days to be exact. We wanted to make sure this baby was healthy before announcing how great God has been to us! We have known about this precious little blessing for a little over two months and have eagerly awaited numerous sonogram and test results. We have witnessed God's mighty, yet gentle, hand every Tuesday for the past five weeks. This baby is a fighter. However, the road is not "clear" quite yet. We met with the pareanatoligist today to do a sonogram and blood test to determine if there are any chromosomal abnormalities; specifically Downs, and Trisomy 13 and 18. Although the sonogram looked great and the doctor said we were in the "safe zone," we are stil...

Grady's Story

Grady Steven Fish 7lbs. 3oz. 19 1/2inches April 25, 2009 4:45pm SURPRISE! Actually, I think absolute shock is more appropriate! This was me a week ago...happy at 36 weeks pregnant with not much happening. I thought for sure that I had at least 2 weeks left, if not four. I did, however, frantically run around town that day getting all the things I thought I needed to get just in case. Good thing I am a little neurotic and OCD because it paid off a few days later. I have had contractions on and off since I was 25 weeks pregnant or so. I never thought anything of them because they were so sporadic and fairly painless. Friday camearound and I noticed that I was having more contractions than usual. Grady was still moving about so I didn't worry much. Around 2:30pm that day I laid down because the contractions were coming on a little stronger and closer together. I called Scott to let him know and honestly, to see when he was coming home from work. Jackson was still napping and I wasn...