Your Story Matters

I look with wonder

At the story I live in

Looking back I see the pain

That I grew up in

I found a “larger story”

Of flawed and broken people

I found hope in their stories

I saw them living in grief

I saw their flawed lives arise

And find a deep peace

Is there hope for me

I said in my deep despair

I found in me a longing

To know what is true

So I studied a story

The one much larger than me

Focus and discipline worked

As I narrowed where I’d look

To find someone to address

Real issues of life

The story I discovered

Is hidden in sacred books

I found sixty-six of them

Books of the Bible

I just had one big question

If there is a God, “Who is he?”

I will let the writers speak

Each one their own way

They were consistent

One theme always held the sway

A persistent joy

One problem that I’m seeing

So many are distracted

Not looking for what is true

But trying to please

And when life stopped me

I decided I would look

At a story much larger

Big enough to learn

There is hope in our failure 

The Bible when used

By many as a “rule book”

Will wreck a man’s soul

I want to know the story

Told by the ones who lived it

I found a larger story 

That connects with mine

The connection a surprise

With integrity I searched

Looking for some good answers

I felt I could trust

written June 27, 2009

Inspired by article about Barbara Brown Taylor (in The Tennessean on June 27, 2009).