Connected in Story: Chapter One
Chapter One: In Which we are Introduced and the Stories Begin
I’ve been steeped in story in so many ways lately. Over and over, I see and hear stories being told. History engages our minds, but stories engage our hearts. We grow in empathy and love when we hear a story. This just doesn’t happen the same way when we hear facts. And so I have felt compelled to look back at stories that have mattered to me - stories that have charmed me, made me feel brave, reminded me of the importance of community, and touched my heart in life changing ways. During Lent, a time when we walk through Jesus’s story, I feel drawn to share my favorite stories and how they have taught me and led me into community. So let’s open our hearts and jump first into The Hundred Acre Wood!
The bits of the Winnie the Pooh stories that charm me the most are the characters and their interactions. Through the eyes of Pooh, Tigger, Piglet, Eeyore, Owl, Kanga, and Little Roo, we learn important lessons about life and relationships. Through their simple and childlike wisdom, we learn the importance of friendship, what it means to be brave, how to listen well, and the risk and rewards of opening your heart to others. Listen to the wisdom in some of my favorite quotes from a certain Silly Old Bear:
“A day without a friend is like a pot without a single drop of honey.”
“If the person you are talking to doesn’t appear to be listening, be patient. It may simply be that he has a small piece of fluff in his ears.”
“Some people care too much. I think it’s called love.”
“When you are a Bear of Very Little Brain, and you Think of Things, you find sometimes that a Thing which seemed very Thingish inside you is quite different when it gets out into the open and has other people looking at it.”
I spent my first few days after Ash Wednesday in an intensive training with Metagem. If you are new to my story, I am a spiritual director - a companion and holy listener of stories. And sacred story was the theme for our time together. We talked about saints and mystics, about mythology, about asking better questions. But most of all we recognized the way our sacred story fits into The Sacred Story.
I am awed by this: that my story - and yours - fits within the tapestry of God’s connection and movement throughout all of the past, present, and future of humanity. Our joys and our sorrows, our daily moments and our extraordinary experiences, are woven together with the stories and days of all of creation.
One of my favorite parts of my training with Metagem is my wisdom group. I meet monthly (and text frequently) with three other ladies who are also training with Metagem. At first, we followed cautiously the step by step process of how to behave in our monthly meetings. But now I know these women deeply, and I love them. I know their stories and their hearts. We are doing life, and this spiritual direction path, together. We have gone from 4 women following a process to one sisterhood journeying together within a holy calling. I know that this connection we have has been built because of story. As we listened and shared our stories and hearts, God formed us into a family through the power of story and the pull of connection.
And isn’t that what we want most? Connection and belonging.
Brene Brown, one of my favorite authors, said in her book Daring Greatly, “Courage starts with showing up and letting ourselves be seen.” Y’all, I am so quick to wallow in feeling insignificant and ordinary. I am just a mom, a widow, a daughter, a friend. And I have so often held my heart close to keep it safe and protected from being hurt again. But there is no community without vulnerability. I have to be brave and risk being seen.
My story is significant and so is yours. And we are made for community and connection. God put within us a a longing for it. We are connected with one another and with all of creation in a song of praise and wonder to the God who intimately loves us.
I know this is hard. It is scary and we risk rejection. But listen to my very favorite Winnie the Pooh quote of all time:
“I always get to where I’m going by walking away from where I’ve been.”
So here I am, walking away from my lifelong story of being afraid of rejection. Here I am, walking toward community and belonging. Will you be brave and join me on the journey?
