by Anna Haiar

Our Stories Matter

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“Now there are also many other things that Jesus did. Were every one of them to be written, I supposed that the world itself could not contain the books that would be written.”
John 21:25 English Standard Version

Every week, I have the pleasure of teaching a Creative Writing course to sophomores and juniors at my kids’ school. One of the projects we tackle is the personal narrative/essay. For this project, students write about their true, lived experiences and take time to reflect on thoughts and feelings about their chosen life event. Topics have ranged from adoption, to life as a missionary kid, to escaping Christian persecution in Africa and immigrating to America. Many of my students have undergone fairly significant events in their comparatively short lives.

Jesus used stories (or parables) quite a bit in the Gospels. While we don’t know if the characters in the parables he used were real or not (did he personally know a Good Samaritan?), Jesus’ parables were valuable and did in fact hold truth and important words meant to teach valuable lessons. Stories were also used in the Old Testament by prophets to illustrate a point or to convey God’s message to the Israelites. It’s safe to say that stories are clearly an important tool used by God throughout the Bible. And above all, the true story of Jesus and God’s plan for redemption is the most significant event in history. John writes in his Gospel that not even the Bible contains every single thing that Jesus accomplished during his ministry on earth. What a vastly incredible thing to consider!

Likewise, the story of your life and your faith matters. We may think that our everyday lives are insignificant, that the routines and quiet moments we move through carry little weight in the grand scheme of things. But the truth is, it’s often in these ordinary, unseen spaces that the most profound parts of our story are being written. These moments may not make headlines, but they are not invisible to God. Others are watching—our children, our neighbors, our friends—and they are impacted by the grace, courage, and hope we carry through what may seem like the mundane. Our lives, even in their stillness, are a testimony being written with eternal significance.

Copyright Family of Christ Lutheran Church, Colorado Springs, Colorado