Sharing Your Story

There’s beauty in the sharing of your story. No longer wrapped up inside – out-in-the-open kind of sharing. Bottled up no more. When you share your story with someone else it becomes its own entity – a projection of ourselves that can deteriorate or expand based on the actions of another. To explain, when our stories are bottled up inside, nothing can happen. We stew, we overanalyze, we obsess, but we don’t share and our stories can die a painful death with us. When we openly share our stories with others, the incredulous amazement can be attached, giving your story life, breathing new soul into its depths, allowing it to be and to bless.

I’ve been hurt very deeply in the past. In fact, I’m still hurt deeply by this person many days. Because of my decisions, I have to live interacting with this person from time to time, expecting and receiving more deep wounds. But I live with it – not perfectly. I live with it bottled up in inside. Sharing it, for me, is foreign. Who in the world would want to hear about my pain, my struggles? Who can relate? But when the risk of fear is drowned out by an open door of opportunity to share with someone – someone who feels safe enough not to judge me - I let them take a peek into my life and release small bits of my story. And it feels good.

In many ways, it’s healing to share. And that’s what makes it beautiful. Being vulnerable enough to surrender to a healing process is beautiful. Healing IS beautiful.

When a response to our story is encouragement and support, a small piece of burden has been cut out of our wounded souls, offered to the kind and crumbled under love. When judgment or criticism follows, we tend to close in ourselves just a little more, learning who’s safe and who’s not worth our time. But that’s okay. We’re still breathing. We’ve learned. We’ve taken a risk. And whether we’ve received love or judgment, we’re still on the road to healing the wounds that so wretch our heart.

The healing comes when we realize that it’s not the end of the world. We still take another breath after our story is out. Our lungs continue to expand and contract. But the breath is lighter, free-er. And, regardless of the response we get, we still live.

Tell your story. Write it out. Share with a loved one. And when you see the response you’ll know how much needs to be said. And then just sit in it. Let the emotions pull you under into the deep. Don’t fight it, but breathe in and out the beauty of healing. It’s not a quick process but in your own time healing will occur.