| WHAT IS YOUR STORY? |
| “We are all storytellers. We all live in a network of stories. There isn’t a stronger connection between people than storytelling.” — Jimmy Neil Smith |
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| He arrived the same as he did every time we were about to embark on a trip, suitcase in hand. He was our housekeeper. His name was Shadrach, and he belonged to the proud Shona tribe. He never missed a camping trip, and he was a master storyteller! |
| He joined us on every trip, whether fishing, hunting, or just camping in the back country African bush.
He would cook all our meals, kept the campsite as clean as he did our house, and after the evening meal each day, we would sit around the campfire where Shadrach would tell his stories.
He acted out the various characters in the story, laughing at times at his own jokes, head thrown back, loud and hearty. This was the African style! |
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| Of all of Shadrach’s wonderful tales, my favourite was how the elephant got his trunk: |
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| You see, elephant originally had a little snout, like that of pig. There was nothing special or unique about it. One scorching hot day elephant went down to the river for a drink, forgetting his mother’s cautions to watch out for crocodile.
As elephant knelt down for a long, cool drink, crocodile lunged from the brown waters grabbing elephant by his snout. Elephant leapt backwards in fright digging his strong legs into the mud while crocodile pulled back with all his might trying to pull elephant into the dark, cool waters of the river.
Back and forth they tugged. Eventually crocodile could hold on no longer and let go. Elephant sat down with a loud plop into the gooey mud and, in dismay, he looked at the long. stretched out snout lying before him! |
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| The other animals around the water hole laughed at the strange sight while elephant, embarrassed and ashamed, slowly walked home wondering how we he would explain this to Mother. Without thinking, his nose suddenly reached up and pulled down some cool banana leaves to wrap is his sore and bruised snout in and then reached out to some yellow, tasty bananas out of reach of the other animals. The moral of this story: Wonderful things can come out of the most dire times of hardship and tragedy.
I doubted the veracity of some of those stories, but they were funny and entertaining. As the campfire dimmed, crackling and showering sparks into the African night sky, our eyes would grow heavy, and it seemed like another perfect end to another perfect day. |
| Stories are powerful. They have been used in every culture and nation since the beginning of time to transfer tradition, wisdom, and even entertainment from one generation to another.
They are more than just facts or statements but are personal and help us relate to someone else’s real life experience.
Even God has a story – History, or better said as ‘His Story’. His story is told in the Bible, lived through our lives, and laid out in the human experience. In fact the Bible is more than just a story, it is a collection of stories gathered over millennia that tell of God’s love for mankind. |
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| And God has given you a story. Your life is not merely an existence lived out or a collection of random experiences over the years but a story of God’s love and redemption penned by God before you breathed even a breath (Psalm 139:16). It’s a powerful and wonderful story. It’s the tale of you and how God’s story intersects with yours. So why keep it to yourself?
Tell your story. Just as that old hymn compels us, “Tell me the old, old story, of unseen things above, of Jesus and His glory, of Jesus and His love; Tell me the story simply, as to a little child…” It is the story of Jesus and His glory, but what fills it with hope and makes it real is how Jesus’ glory transformed you and gave your life both meaning and purpose.
May I close by asking you two simple questions: What is your story? Who can you share that story with this week? |
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