Who’s Story is it Anyway?

     Getting ready to leave hasn't been easy. Seeing as this is a big step, a sort of turning point in the events of my life, I've been asking myself the sort of questions we all ask when we make big decisions. I've caught myself thinking things like: "What have I gotten myself into?" "How is my life going to turn out because of this?" "Poor me..." "Lucky me..." "I hope my story will end happily in the way I want it to, God writes us wonderful stories, right?". I was reminded, as God has reminded me many times before, that I'm looking at it all wrong.
     I've been told, and I don't have trouble remembering most days, that I am not the author of my story, God is, and I am very grateful for that. The other day, as I was taking time during the quiet hours of the morning to walk and talk with God, I was struck with a thought: I'm not the protagonist of the story! Somewhere along the line, although I have been trusting God as the author, I had gotten it into my head that I was the main character of the story He's been writing. I looked at my life as one of those beautifully written 500 page novels, all centered in on one heroine's adventures and exploits, chronicling life from the day she's born until the day she dies. Really, that's not the case. God's story is far more complicated than that, an encyclopedic account with multiple volumes, interweaving character after character after character, spanning thousands of years! And I am definitely not the main character. Maybe my character will be nameless, maybe my character will be remembered for a single act, or maybe forgotten in the midst of all the action, and that's okay. The thread that's interwoven through every life and every story throughout history isn't me, it's God's redemptive plan; it's Jesus.
     It's amazing how we have the privilege to be able to be a part of this grand story, a story far greater than any one of us could ever be on our own. So instead of asking myself: "How will my story go, what will it look like and how will it end?" maybe I should be asking myself a different question: "How will God use my character and my actions to further unfold His beautiful story of redemption?"
     In whatever phase of preparation or ministry that you find yourself in, we must remind our selves that God is writing our stories. The backdrop might be different for each person. Some might be in a rural village in Africa, some in the bustling streets of a city but all of us are led by God, the author of our story. We are small chapters in the grand narrative, but we are a part of a story so far greater than any one of us could ever be on our own!