This summer in my women’s community group we have been sharing our stories. It has been an amazing experience, and with every new story I have so much more awe for how Jesus has worked in all our lives. We read excerpts of “To Be Told” by Dan Allender to give us direction on writing the stories, a book I highly recommend. There were a few purposes behind the story idea: one, to see how God has worked in our lives; two, to become familiar with sharing our story with other believers; three, to eventually feel comfortable sharing our story with non-Christians as an evangelistic tool. Several of the girls in the study had shared their stories before (myself included), and we all agreed that it’s a good exercise to re-write our stories every few years, because God is continually revealing things in our lives. Even if the story is never shared with people, it’s good to write it down to be able to really see how God is always active in our lives.

But in the process of telling our stories (or rather the story of Jesus’ work in our lives), I have learned so much about my sisters in Christ: how they came to know Christ, how they met their husbands, the way their parents have affected them for good and bad. But I’ve also learned of the many struggles they have dealt with, some more recent than others. Many of these women I have known for several years, and yet through hearing their stories I’ve realized how little I actually know them, what’s good and bad in their lives and how I can encourage or pray for them. I find it very sad and convicting that only through the formal process of telling our stories at community group do I really set aside time to get to know my friends, my family in Christ. I see these girls each week and ask, “How are you” without really caring what’s really going on in their lives. On the same token, when I’m asked the same question, I rarely answer honestly. This might be acceptable chit-chat with acquaintances at the grocery store, but not with other believers. I’m not saying we should unload on everyone who asks how we are doing, but more of an effort should be made to check in with people in order to pray for and support them when they may need it. This is something I’m working on, and when I write my story the next time hopefully I will have made progress in this area.

So, how are you? Me? It’s hard to type while juggling a crying baby.