The Story

Most of us don't consider ourselves to be writers.  However, each of us is actually writing his or her life story every day. Perhaps not with pen and ink, or even with a keyboard, but we are still writing all the time ... with our lives. We don't have to write it down. We don't even have to open our mouths. But we are still communicating constantly.  Whether we are making big choices about careers or relationships or causes, or seemingly small choices like changing lanes on the freeway, calculating the tip at a restaurant or when an how we'll return a phone call, every choice tells something about who we are, and often affects other people. Are you cheap person, the late person, the thoughtful person? Do you take time to listen and make other people feel valued? Are you the one who drives fast and cuts everyone off because your time and schedule are more important, or because you made poor time management choices earlier that caused you to be late? Are you the spouse, parent, sibling, child or friend who blesses others or who makes their lives more complicated? Are you the nice boss or the mean boss, the gossiper or the encourager, the mom or dad who could never get to family commitments? Do you have a temper or a knack for making hurtful remarks? Think of the last thing you said to each of the important people in your lives. Would you want that to be your final words to them, the words they would be left with if you were suddenly gone? Have we succeeded in work or earned other accolades at the expense of letting down our families or friends or coworkers? And what about our faith? Have we truly lived out what we believe? Or is there a gap between our professions and our actions that causes others to stumble or question what we actually believe. The list goes on and on.

You see, our story isn't just what we might put in our resumes or our memoirs. How would other people write our stories? What about the people at home and at work and at church, and at clubs or parties? And would all their stories match up, or would some of them be asking, "Hey, are we talking about the same person?"  The point is that each of us is writing a story with their lives, a story as distinctive as a fingerprint. What's your story? Did you leave a tangible trail of joy and kindness and generosity, or something else. What choices are you going to make to change your story for the better today? It’s never too late to change your story. And the most amazing, exciting, encouraging thing in all the world is the blank page of life that God give us each day to write our stories upon.  

The Story

Every life tells a story

Regardless of what we intend

The kind of life we choose to live

Will be our testament in the end

Whatever may be our intentions

Whatever our lofty words

Our choices will be set in stone

And their story will be heard

Our triumphs and our failures

And our apparent priorities

The way we treated other people

This are our legacy

So each day we write the story

That others will read someday

Each day shows who we really are

So we must guard what our lives say

Yes, each life tells a story

Will we live poorly, or well

For each of us must choose each day

The story we want our lives to tell

            By Frank Carpenter ©