Hey you - YOUR story matters!
Everybody's story matters.⠀
Some stories will be known by many.⠀
Some stories no one will ever know about apart from a few.
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I just happened to write a book about my story! In order for my story to be told, I had to find the value in my story first.⠀
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For years I didn't feel it needed to be told. To be really honest, I didn't want to relive some of the memories I had chosen to forget, or cause people to hurt anymore than they did. But the value of anyone's story, including my own, isn't in what tried to knock you down - but how and why you still stand. ⠀
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My friend recently said to me, "Claire, there's a difference between standing like a rock against the waves (representing hard seasons that come against you) and standing like the seaweed. The seaweed is no less strong just because it swerves and sways. If anything it's stronger BECAUSE it does that. Its foundations never move but it stays soft and open. A rock however, is hard and sharp. If the wave pushes hard enough, the rock can always move because it doesn't have roots bedded in a deep foundation. We can choose to be a rock or seaweed when wave after wave comes. There's no glory in standing if your heart is hard and you're unkind to others. Anyone can become bitter and angry, at God and every one. It's hard to be the seaweed. To still move when God asks you to, forgive when you don't want to and see sunshine on rainy days.
You my friend are seaweed".⠀
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My story is definitely not the worst you will ever read, and it's not full of perfection. I never wanted my story to be a competition in who suffered the most - there's no goodness in that. I just hope that in the openness of sharing my story, I can give hope, and encourage others to keep going.
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I wrote my book & keep writing, because like me, not everyone sees God in the footsteps beside them. If I can help one beautiful soul restore their relationship with God, then my story was worth telling. And it still is. ⠀
Trust your story.
Believe your story.
Cherish your story.
It hasn't finished being told
