​Sharing Our Stories in Community

Have you thought about your story?

What are the events and Who are the people that have helped to bring you to the moment you are in right now? 

Where has God been leading and guiding you?

Each of us SoCo Beach Project participants were given the opportunity to share our stories through a Post-It-Note timeline following “Purposeful Living” as our guide. We recalled specific events and people, challenges and struggles, as well as growth periods and trends that were impactful during the different time periods of our life from childhood up until now. While this process was hard, it has also been very freeing for me personally to be able to release the burdens of stress, hurt, and grief that I have been feeling. This past year has been a difficult one and it is so important to recognize and listen to each other, sharing together lament, pain, joy, and excitement. It is such a privilege to share and listen to each other’s stories. Sharing with the group was also greatly beneficial as we recognize the uniqueness and life experience that each person brings to this summer.  All our stories have value and within each story, God has been and is still at work shaping and forming us to his likeness, the likeness In Christ. 

When we hear the stories of others, there might be connections and areas of another person’s story that resonate deeply with our own. With sharing in community, you realize and have a deeper understanding that you are not alone. Through stories, we learn about ourselves and from others. Nobody’s story is perfect. We all have areas of our lives that our broken, scarred, bruised and smooth. 

Every piece of our life is connected to God’s presence. In my story I mention how God is everywhere and in all things. He is in creation, in the ordinary tasks and conversations, in other people and in us. As Ephesians 2:10 says “For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus…” (NIV) When we see ourselves and others as In Christ and as Beloved children of God there is so much deep joy living in this truth. Living in Deep Joy is power.

It is also with this truth that we can recognize that our lives have pieces that are interwoven and connected. We as people need God, a Community of Believers, Creation, and our Neighbours. When one of these areas is missing, we cannot fully thrive.
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Take time to notice, reflect, lament, sing, laugh, share, and be fully present with others, because where each of us are in life matters! 
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