More Than Our Story

In our world of stories, on social media platforms, through content marketing, on stages, or by the water coolers at work, we all have a defining story. We are more than our story, though. It is important to remember that we are eternal beings.

The photo shows Save The 1 members holding signs “conceived in rape”, “mother from rape”, “doctors said abortion“, “mother from sex trafficking”, these are some of the stories of our members.

Telling our Story

Every one of us tells a story. It could be that we use images and art on Instagram, Pinterest or another visual medium or video on Youtube. You might use more text on Facebook or a blog. Maybe you’ve written a book or a few books. Maybe you are verbal and you tell your story in settings, intimate or formal, engaged with the people directly.

However we share, we are more than our story. Maybe you are a mother and a homemaker. You might be a fantastic cook, but not so great at math. Perhaps, you are an administrative genius, but plants don’t survive your black thumb. Are you a marvelous visionary, but the logistics and details leave many of your ideas in a heap of stubble? Or a college student focused solely on the goals and steps toward graduation, leaving relationships in need of attention?

Save The 1 members met for a speaker training, where we told our stories and wrecked one another in 7- 10 minutes each. We are the people that people call “exceptions” in pro-life discourse. We are the so-called hard cases.

Rebecca says that we are called the hard cases in the abortion debate, but we are easy to love. That’s because we are more than our story. Just like anyone else, we are not flat, two demential figures, we are multifaceted and marvelous.

Stories Don’t  Define

I have stoped using the phrase “telling my story” at times, because I share an experience or a portion of my history.

My story isn’t over. I’m still here.

As long as we have breath, we can change the trajectory of our lives and therefore, the lives of those around us. We are tremendously powerful and our strength and energy reverberates whether we know it or not, whether we want it to or not, and whether we are intentional or not. We are ever changing from one second to another, physically at least. Our cells are in constant motion. We are mostly fluid. Literally.

I am a soul. I have a mind, will, and emotions and I live in a body. No one chooses their body. You get what you get. When we are babies, we don’t get to choose our environment, neither what we learn or know. We do get to choose what we think after a while. As we are growing up and we begin to imagine, dream, and develop our own thinking, we choose what to think. We decide who we will become, but most of us do not do that consciously and on purpose.

We lived through some things and pushed along, as though it didn’t matter what we did or what we said.

Your Life Matters

We may be mostly fluid, but we are matter too. Not solid, we are soft to touch and we can be damaged. Our body can be hurt or diseased, both physically and mentally. Even the damage doesn’t define us, because we are so much more that our body and mind. We are our past and our future. We are a part of the people around us and of the things we create or destroy.

Whether you are very boisterous and have a great following, or you are quiet and unassuming, you impact the world.

I wish everyone knew this. For all the people who are just limping through the universe, feeling lost and alone, or maybe desperately trying to mitigate the pain of life, you have a purpose and an immeasurable value that can never be quantified.

Life is hard. We know it at Save The 1, for sure. We are considered the lowest of the low, in the minds of many people. Those people that Jesus told us not to despise, the little ones of Matthew 18:10.

Pain and suffering abound in our world and I don’t think it’s going to get better. I have had my fair share of suffering, but I’m sure there will be plenty more. It’s often work to find pleasure, but we can, if we try.

Be Intentional

It sounds cliche’ to tell you to live with purpose. Some may even feel that is an unattainable ideal. As a stay at home mom or a single working mom with little ones, to live with purpose would be to stay in a positive state of mind and bring up the precious people that God has given you charge over. Bringing up children and just about anything else we do are temporary pursuits. Life has distinct patterns, an ebb and flow.

As a student, maybe it means reaching out to another student and provide comfort. Perhaps, it means taking a hike in the woods with a friend for an administrative person who is so nose-to-the-grindstone that joy is a distant memory. For the executive struggling to stay on any task because so many are on the desk, it might mean stepping back and setting up a list of priorities and delegated tasks, so that things are getting done, but life is still open to opportunities for joy.

If you are of a mind to let life happen and responsibilities are neglected, it might mean adding structure in your life to help you be more diligent. The important message is that we are here for a reason, and I would say many reasons, but in every moment there is a reason for your life. Right now and in ten years, you choose what impact you will make. We can float aimlessly, but we still affect the world around us. Or we can live with the intent of making our world and the people in it better.

What does it mean to you?