This is my story.
The last few years I’ve stumbled upon themes that seem to shape each year. For 2023, the phrase that captured my attention and prayers was, “This is my story”.
As I considered an emphasis on each word in that phrase, it seemed to take on a deeper meaning.
THIS is my story… the one life I have right now… not some dream land…. Not looking back or forward. This, right here, right now is my story and I don’t want to miss it focused on “that” story, any other story.
This IS my story. Whether I like it or not on any given day, this story is reality. It’s the story I get and I don’t want to miss it with my attention on what isn’t.
This is MY story. Not someone else’s. They each get their own story and I get mine. Comparison never helps… no one wins in that mentality. This is my story and I don’t want to miss it comparing it to people around me.
This is my STORY. Here is where the hope comes in strong: My story is still being written. It’s not over yet. That’s how stories work; we don’t know all the twists and turns at the beginning. We get to walk through them each day. Each day, a few more pages get written, a few more details are revealed. This story isn’t over; there is time for the past to be redeemed and dreams to be fulfilled. I don’t want to miss today’s little joys thinking only the big action scenes matter.
What a chapter this year has been! It is so fascinating for me to return again to this theme as the year comes to an end. It’s true, I could have never imagined the details that would fill the pages of my story in 2023. Yet, God knew. Psalm 139 (another theme for this year) says this in verse 16: “…all the days ordained for me were written in [God’s] book before one of them came to be.” God knew what this year would hold and He knows what’s next.
As this year comes to a close, I hope to use this space throughout December to reflect on the story God’s written in my life this year. The hopes, the dreams, the heartbreak, the immeasurable joy, the twists, the turns, the steady moments too.
This is my story.
A story of expectation.
A story of tears.
A story of trusting God.
A story of speaking life.
And I hope by sharing some of what God’s been writing in my story, you are able to see the beautiful, messy, redemptive story He’s writing for you too.
Jesus, “take the best and worst of me
And use it for your good
Write a better story than
My own pen ever could.” Amen (From Mallory Hope’s song Out of My Hands)
bekahfreed.com 
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