Tell Me "My Story"

Rachel was sitting next to me …chattering away, as usual.  I’m not sure how, but somehow, the conversation turned  to her asking something about “her story”.  

She has heard this story many times before, but she never tires of hearing the details. She asks me questions so she can hear the details again and again.  

How I had prayed for her long before I never knew her.   

How I heard about her.  

How I got carsick on the trip to her village to pick her up.  (She never lets me leave out that detail.) 

What I thought when I first saw her.  

What she “said”. (Wa-a-a-a-a!)   

Her first bottle.   

First diaper. 

First ride in the car.   

How thankful I was that God had given her to me. 

Rachel is a very busy, active little girl, and often, even as she is talking about one thing, her mind always seems to be racing on to the next thing she wants to do or say.  But not this time.  I looked over at her as I was answering her questions and saw her leaning back into her seat looking at my face with absolute rapt attention.  She was hearing “her story”.  The story of how God brought us together.  The story that affirms how very much she is wanted and loved.  At that moment, to her, nothing was more interesting.

It occurs to me that that in the Bible, God tells us “our story” as well.  Yes, it is overall the story of Jesus, and God’s plan to bring people back to Himself when we were far away from Him.  But in a very real sense, it is also “my story”. 

In the Bible, I can find the story of how much God loved me and longed for me to be close to Him.  In His Word, He tells me how he sought me out, rescued me, and brought me home.  This story tells of the rejoicing in heaven when one sinner repents and comes home to the Father.  It is a story of a love so big that even my love for my daughter is small in comparison.  I have heard that story many times during my life. May I never tire of hearing it.  

For God so loved the world ... (John 3:16)

For God so loved ... ME!

This  post is taken from one of my old newsletters that was written when Rachel was four years old.  

From newsletter 20100706