When I got off the phone, she came closer to me and said,
"Mommy, don't you get tired telling that story? People ask you to tell it
all the time and it's the same story every time..." I looked at her and
thought about it for a moment, then I told her. "Well, it's not really my
story anymore. This is the same story that many other women tell and for me,
every time I tell mine, it's like sharing a piece of me, so that the person
knows better, feels better and does better. Whenever I tell my story, if it
gives someone hope, the feeling of comfort, love and makes people think and do
something, then I have to keep telling it. Sometimes, Noelle, our story doesn't
really just belong to us. It's for a bigger purpose. God just makes us the
vehicle through which the story is told."
She looked at me and sat in silence as she digested it all for a few
minutes. I thought to myself, "she
must think I'm freaking crazy." Then she said, "what do you mean
vehicle?" I explained. After a long pause, she says, "okay, I get
it." I have the feeling that's not the end of that conversation, but the
beginning of many, many, more.
What I wanted her to understand was that sharing one's story
isn't always just what it appears to be at first glance. It's more about offering up a part of
yourself so that you create a commonality that enables the other person to listen,
open up, be inspired or be transformed. It can be about
connecting with someone else on a deeper level, letting them know and feel that
you are with them, on their journey because you have walked in their shoes and
that they are not alone. When you open your heart to someone, especially someone
going through a challenging time, something beautiful happens between the
receiver and the giver. That thing can
be inspiration or hope. Too often, we
keep our stories, "our golden nuggets" to ourselves. We think that
someone might judge us, feel sorry for us, think differently about us, not
understand or we think that our story doesn't matter. Often times, sharing is like
extending a hand or giving someone a hug through your words, and allows others to feel that you two are similar in more
ways than you knew.
Nothing is more scary than feeling vulnerable or that you may have exposed too much of your heart, of yourself,, but if your purpose in doing so is to genuinely connect with the heart and soul of another, nothing is lost...