What’s Your Story?

I recently had the opportunity to attend and guide at the ALTAR Fly Fishing Retreat for FATC members which was held in the Driftless Region of Minnesota. It was a time of reflection, as well as great fellowship, fishing and food.

A part of what we talked about was viewing life as a story.To do so invites observation and learning. It also helps us make sense and meaning of life, and most importantly, it offers the choice/opportunity to respond and change.

I don’t think you have to attend a three-day retreat to do this, but you do have to be intentional. For years, I’ve appreciated and witnessed the power of story telling as a means of communication, but since I started writing for the FATC FORUM, it’s been on my mind even more.

Viewing my life as a story helps remind me that I have “chapters” in my life. Some are sad and painful times, some are happy times, some are times of drifting and stagnation, some are times of growth. Life is a continuum and what I do today affects tomorrow. My present soon becomes my past, and my future becomes my present.

I can’t change my past, but I can use it to influence my present and my future. In other words, I can have some impact on the direction of my future. I can influence the upcoming chapters in my life.

As a Christ follower, I can also see how my story fits into His story. If I’m part of Christ’ story, then my story is a never-ending story. In a sense, the words of General Maximus in the movie Gladiator can be true, “What we do in life echoes in eternity.”

Another of my favorite warriors, Mohammad Ali once said, “A man who views the world the same at 50 as he did at 20, has wasted 30 years of his life.”

I don’t want to go thru life like the unaware mass of humanity in the movie The Matrix. And I don’t want to be like Jed Clampett, the patriarch of the Clampett family in The Beverly Hillbillies, who was blessed with wealth, a mansion and tremendous opportunity—yet his response was mainly to reply, “Well, doggies!” and move through life unaware of his opportunity to live a life that could echo in eternity.

In my life, I have seen God take my two divorces, which were the greatest adversities or chapters in my life, and turn them into my greatest blessings. He used them to bring me to Him and to then prepare and equip me to help others in ways that have had a ripple effect. Thank God, I had chapters beyond the divorce chapters that were also part of my life story. It was in those chapters that the hero arrived and rescued me.

One of my favorite Bible verses is Psalm 126:5-6, “Those who sow in tears will reap with songs of joy. Those who go out weeping, carrying seed to sow, will return carrying sheaves with them.” During the pain of my divorces, I did not see this to be the story of my life, but upon reflection, I do now. The “tears” were in some chapters; the “songs of joy” were in other chapters, but they were all integral to my life story—and I now thank God for making my story part of His story.

I have also seen God use my job skills and my experience as a leader and a communicator to honor Him and bless others. These also were talents from God. In the Parable of the Talents (Matthew 25:14-30), Jesus makes it clear that “The Master” rightfully expects a good return on investment (ROI) from what he has given each of us.

Viewing your life as a story and trying to make sense of it with the goal of being a good steward of the talents, gifts and experiences can make all the difference in finishing well.

Maybe it’s time for all of us to become more aware of the story of our lives so we can make adjustments to get it going in the right direction or to keep it going in the right direction. Mohammad Ali also said, “Father Time is undefeated.” That’s also true, but it’s not too late yet to write the remaining chapters in your life. You can leave a story worth telling—a legacy worth leaving.

Sometime, I’d love to hear your story–on the FATC Forum or in person. Feel free to write to the FORUM or give me call. And if you would like to know more about an ALTAR Fly Fishing Retreat, visit altarflyfishing.org

John Muckerman

FATC Inspirational & Leadership Studies Lead