Story of Your Life

To every story there is a beginning and an ending. What makes the story good, inspiring, sad, jaw dropping, is what happens in between the beginning and the ending. The beginning can be good and the end can be shockingly great, but what makes an amazing story is one with antagonists, plot twists, cliffhangers, multiple chapters, and development of characters. 

Most people want a happy ending in the stories they watch and read. Many are disappointed when the bad guy does not get punished, the guy or girl of a couple you have rooted for dies, the main couple breaks up, or the hard working dad loses a job. We want happy endings even more in our own lives. We want to find that job we love and feel we are made to do, to be moms and dads to successful children, to get a degree, to find someone we love and want to spend the rest of our lives with, or make enough money to never worry about the next paycheck; but, no surprise, our lives tend to feel like that book or movie that there is no happy ending. Instead, it can feel like constant disappointment, worry, depression, and unreached goals.

So here is something I want you to think about. Hopefully, this will widen your perspective of whatever you face now or in the future. Would it be a great movie if it just showed the characters in pure bliss all throughout? The fact is, it would be boring; because, no one goes to the theater to watch something with only happiness. Now, maybe you are reading this and thinking I am some dark soul person who just wants to see horrible things happen in a movie. Honestly though, no one pays the crazy amount of money for a movie ticket only to see 100% happiness all throughout. There is a reason why it is rude to tell someone who has yet to read the book or see the movie what happens and how it ends. Because, the point of a movie is to be drawn in to the characters, hurt when they hurt so when happiness comes to them you appreciate it so much more, surprised by plot twists, and join in on the adventure of the character. It is the unknown that draws people to movie theaters and book stores. It is the want to find out what happens and how it happens. This is all a part of the adventure of the story.

In reality, our lives are just like the books you have yet to read and the movies you have yet to watch. Without other people telling you the ending or happenings of the story, you have no idea when or how a chapter will end or begin. There are going to be bumps along the road like a plot twist. Maybe you were in a relationship for a while and saw yourself marrying the person until they break things off and your world is left upside down. Maybe its a job you lost or feel stuck at waiting for the opportunity to work a job you love. The average person does not get a job at 16 and keep that for the rest of their life. They may have a few jobs in high school, a few in college, and a few after before landing the one they are designed by God for.

If it is a good job/relationship/experience that God took away, let this be a glimpse of what He has planned for you in the future. Trust that God has something better for you beyond what you could have ever imagined on your own. The good you lost is just a trailer of what God has for you in the future. If it is a bad job/relationship/experience that God took away, let this be a sign of God's grace and protection keeping you from further entanglement, scars, or hurts in an unhealthy situation. Whatever God took away whether it be a relationship, job, or anything else, let yourself grieve and learn from the experience. Whatever doors He chose to close or doors He chose to open, trust His ever so perfect timing for it all.

Bottom line, the bumps and plot twists are not an end but a new beginning. They are a step towards something greater and better fit for you. Your story is not a one chapter book, but one with many. Each chapter holding more surprises, growth opportunities, twists, and turns. This is all a part of your character development in the story of your life. Let every experience whether good, bad, ugly, hurtful, or even toxic push you closer to the calling that God has for you as a child of God. Let each circumstance draw you ever so nearer to the arms of the loving God you serve who knows every situation you need to experience to become who He has in his perfect plan for you to become. Push past the hardships and let perseverance by the strength of God fill you to the core.

“I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.”

Philippians 3:14 ESV

You see, we do not know the end of our story, but there is one. Conformity to the image of Christ is the end goal for all believers. We know that in the end it will be beautiful. In the uncertainty of life, we must cling to truth that God has you in the palm of His hand and nothing can take you out of it. In the uncertainty of life, there is only one thing you can count on and that is that God is the best author you could ask for. He is the only one who knows the end, the between, and every step that will bring you to being more like Christ!

“And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers.”

Romans 8:28-29 (ESV)

It is clear God is in control. God opens some doors and closes others. He is the author of it all. His reasoning may not be evident in the initial closing or opening of a door but this is where trusting Him to lead you down the right path comes in. The question is, do you let God hold the pen or do you try to take over insisting you know better when doors open or close different then what you want? Who do you let write your story? When the plot changes in your life? When controversy comes? When a chapter ends where or how you do not want it to? When a chapter starts and you do not feel prepared or just feel plain scared of whats to come? Do you stay stuck with your own power or do you embrace the resurrection power in you? Submitting to His authorship is the hardest thing; but, in the end, is there anything better you could do for yourself?