Sharing Stories

SAT., SEPT. 14, 1985, 6:56 AM
FARM, FRONT OF FIRE

Yesterday was a day of sharing stories. You and My servant Dan had hours together in which stories from your lives were shared, and the meeting of hospice people provided other, and different stories. From My perspective it was a good day, for there is no better use of earth time than in telling stories in a shared way. Hear, o son, as I put together the act of sharing and the phenomenon of stories.

As I have told you repeatedly, stories are one of My best ways of expressing truth. The kernel of truth is given a setting by the story. It is not so stark and blatant, but becomes evident in a natural, more lasting way as the story is told. And because a person is telling the story there is more relevance than if it had been read or heard without the personalization.

Yet all people are not equally good at or willing to tell and share stories. And in a meeting such as the one yesterday some people want to keep the emphasis on organizational matters, rather than on telling stories of how their hospice is functioning and how it is affecting people’s lives… those who die, those who give care, and those who volunteer to be a sharer of one of life’s apparent “tough times.” You added a few stories, but you were not aware enough of this opportunity to purposefully ask people to put their experiences in story form. If you had sought My insight before the meeting you cold have been more purposeful, gotten more from the meeting, and improved the interaction in so doing. But… better late than never.

Your time with Dan, on the other hand, was quite story oriented. He now has a better understanding of you and your relationship to Me, and, in turn, you have a better grasp of the several different lives he has led, and how these have affected the spirit of the man you know now. Yet even as you know much more than you did yesterday morning, there is much you still could learn, and you now have a good base from which to build the story further, and discern truth from it.

Likewise, there are many facets of your story that were left untold. You may want to reflect upon why you told some of the story and not some other portions. Remember that you can benefit from hearing your own story also, and consider also that I may teach you in this way, influencing your story telling, so that you can learn, even as you hear your own voice… in balance with others, of course.

All right, I shall expound on the idea you heard Me offer earlier. You know, as most Christians do, that the story of My birth as Jesus is an amalgam of the stories from Luke and Matthew. An important part of the story is in John, however… “in the beginning was the Word”… and I was, and am that Word. Thus, I was from the beginning, not just from the influence of Mine (the Holy Spirit) upon one of Mary’s ova. Did I enter into the earth before My incarnation as Jesus of Nazareth? Well, since even much of that story is not told, it certainly is possible that I prepared well for that life, and have a much wider story than the Scriptures tell. Remember… these Scriptures enlighten, they do not circumscribe or limit.

You also must seek the story of My servant Olive, and share some of yours with her. And, yes, you must see Alberta Bigler again and hear her story of life without both the healthy Reymond and the suffering remnant. You should encourage more story-telling, even at your hospice board meetings. Even though your newsletter has a story quality to it, you can make it more so, with some purposive effort.

Life is basically a story, not any overlapping set of facts. Religion is part of that story. Education is another part. And you have My guidance in being a story-teller in the midst of an academic and organization life. As always, seek My help with this opportunity this week.

The End (but not really)
8:02 AM