hopeful storytelling

a few years ago i attended the national storytelling festival in jonesborough, tennessee, where i had the privilege to listen to some of the most honest, refreshing and talented storytellers. i can remember sitting under a tent at dusk, rain pounding the top of the tent, people crammed into incredibly uncomfortable seats just to hear some of the best spinners weave their tales. it was a truly memorable experience and as i pondered that weekend i started contemplating the beauty of a story.

everyone has a story which is their life. we can all sit around and share funny stories of our childhood, stories of pain and suffering, humiliation stories, and stories of events that shaped our lives and made us who we are. we all share that common thread. what everyone does not share is the belief that there is an ultimate storyteller, who can weave the most wonderfully crafted tale ever known to man, when man steps aside and agrees to put down the writing pen.

i connected to a blog this week through a friend's blog and was profoundly and utterly touched and blessed by something that was posted. it was said in a prayer format "Your story is much better than mine. Your story is far more beautiful. Your story gives you all the glory. Your story is one of Hope. Your "no" is filled with hope and your "yes" is full of hope. Thank you for being a God of Hope through it all."

hope: to look forward to with desire and reasonable confidence

above is one of the definitions used by webster to describe what hope truly is, and i am so thankful today to stand here and say that i am beyond hopeful for many things. one of those is to be a mother to children who are on this earth. another is to continue to be fashioned into the woman God created me to be. beyond stereotypes, beyond what others perceive, beyond what my mind can fathom, God has a plan to shape and mold me into who he wants me to be. sometimes it's painful and we are told to wait. sometimes we think that our storytelling capabilities are much better than God's, but as the blogger above writes, "Your story is better than mine."

i love a good story, and i am humbled that a great story has been written about me. selfish, ungrateful, unworthy, me has the most amazing storyteller writing my story. and my story is one of hope. hope that all of my dreams, realized and unrealized will come to fruition in His timing. hope that whatever life throws at me, and wherever my story may go that i needn't worry because the Master Storyteller knows what my ending will be. and i can promise you, promise you that my story will not end in heartache, but in joy, if for no other reason that i am a precious child of the living God.

be blessed.
cass