June 2008

Yesterday I received an e-mail out of the blue from a woman in Yorkshire sharing something of her personal story with me, and how she had grown in faith. The particular reason that she wrote was because she said that the journey had really started to come alive 25 years ago when she came to see me as her parish priest about having her daughter baptized. She said that she had appreciated the welcome but also attending a short preparation course and being asked to attend church services.

That experience started a journey. The woman carried on worshipping with her husband and baby. Later, they were confirmed, and went on the PCC. She became a Reader and is now ordained.

It was lovely for me to read her story all these years on, and encouraging. Quite what prompted her to write when she did I do not know, but it was great to receive.

How often do we tell others our own stories of our journey with God? We are called to be "witnesses". A witness tells what she or he has seen and heard, what has happened to them.

Telling our own story lets us grow in thankfulness for what God has done for us, for what we have received from Him. It also encourages others and, maybe, helps them in their continuing journey, their story.

As we tell our own stories, so we find ourselves telling God's story: what he has done in us and others, and what he is always doing in his world. If someone else hears your story, it may help them, far more than you imagine, grow in their own faith. It may help them make connections between their own experiences and realize that this is God at work in them. It may even help them come to a new, living faith.

Telling your story will also throw you back to prayer, for you to go deeper into that sea of God's love, and for the person to whom you are talking to do the same.

Our Diocesan Conference, beginning in a few days, is all about this: Sharing our Story. May we get better at it, and more and more share our story which is God's story.