“Story is the mother of us all. First we wrap our lives in language and then we act on who we say we are.We proceed from the word into the world and make a world based on our stories.”
~Christina Baldwin

Yesterday I was surrounded by stories. During our Sunday worship, we were blessed to have author Douglas Wood share his lovely story of Old Turtle and the Broken Truth. It was wonderful to watch children and adults crane their necks to look up at the screens that held the now, bigger than life illustrations of this picture book. Seeing their faces concentrate on his telling of a story that holds wisdom on one level for children and meaning on other levels for adults was a beautiful experience.

While being present to this one big story, I was of course also present to so many others. During worship our third graders received the gift of their Bible from the church. It is a celebrated milestone for these young ones who have now become mature enough in their ability to read that they can begin to wrestle with the stories that rise from the pages of this sacred text that guides our faith tradition. For many it will be a lifetime wrestling. An acceptance. A rejection. A reworking. At times a white-knuckled hanging on. At others a gentle letting go. The stories that shape us are like that.

And of course, there were the stories of the people who decided to show up at church on this particular October Sunday. Many of the life stories of those around are ones I know, at least, in part. Having been blessed to serve a church for the number of years I have this one, I can look out across the pews and see the joy and sorrow that is woven into the fabric of the community. It is a gift. There are those I have laughed with and cried with, those I have watched fall in love, those whose weddings I have performed, and those I have helped say goodbye to loved ones. So many stories.

Looking out across the community there were also faces of those I did not know. I did not know if they were visitors or simply people I had not yet had the privilege of meeting. A yet untold story for me. Their faces caused me to wonder what they thought of this diverse, even ragtag group of people pulled from their beds on a beautiful Sunday morning to be present to celebrate how the Holy might grace their lives. Had they arrived with an expectation that was being fulfilled? Or was this another search that had ended in disappointment? Ah, another story.

Somedays I become aware of the immense play in which we are all engaged. All these characters moving through a specific time in the history of the world in a production for which none of us auditioned. We were cast by virtue of our birth. Sometimes we find ourselves in a comedy that is light-hearted and uplifting. Other times we are engaged in a drama that breaks our hearts and causes those around us to weep. Often it seems we are in a farce, characters bumping into one another in over-the-top prat falls and doors that lead to no where. No doubt every life story contains them all.

Where is your life story taking you these days? Is it something you notice, this story you are playing out? Can you, if you take a deep breath and pause a moment, see the presence of the Sacred with you, moving beside and through you?

Here is my prayer: May the Holy One bless all our stories this day. May we awaken to the movement of the Spirit who continues to urge us on and walk with us through the comedy and tragedy that is the telling of every life story.

It has always been so and will no doubt continue to always be.