I hope you enjoy it too!!
How does the story end?
"You do not know the end of your story."That's what I told an impressive group of girls today.We were in the midst of one of the prettiest spots on the planet.God was there.
The theme, "There Once Was a Girl", was planned to help them understand that they are writing their own story and the need to understand their potential to create the story they were meant to live.
I had them close their eyes and I asked them questions:
Raise your hand if you think you'll get married in the temple.
Raise your hand if you think you'll graduate from college.
Raise your hand if you think you'll serve a mission.
Raise your hand if you think you'll be a mom.
Raise your hand if you think you'll return to God when you leave this life.
We talked about how easy it is to make assumptions about our lives. We see where we are in the middle of a story and we assume we know how it's going to all turn out.But, we aren't the only writers of our story. We are partnered with God.And the reality is that HE is the only who actually knows how the story will end.*****
One of my favorite stories in the Bible is the story of Joseph, sometimes referred to as “Joseph of Egypt”. You know the story.Joseph was the favorite son of his dad. He was so favored that his dad gave him a fancy schmancy coat and everything. Joseph was given a couple of dreams that let him know there was something special about him. He didn’t think twice about sharing his dreams with his brothers. They got tired of his fancy coat and his “I think I might be a ruler one day” dreams and sold him to a company of Ishmaelites going to Egypt (and then lied to their dad and said Joseph was dead). Joseph ends up as a servant in Potiphar’s house. Potiphar’s wife tries to get Joseph into trouble. Joseph is smart enough to run. Potiphar’s wife accuses Joseph of trying to get HER into trouble. Joseph ends up in jail. And then seems to get forgotten.
Now, that’s not the end of the story. But, the thing I love about this story, is that Joseph didn’t know it wasn’t the end of the story. He could have thought the story was over when his brother’s threw him in the pit and sold him to the Ishmaelites.He could have thought the story was over when he ended up as a servant to one of the Pharaoh’s chief captains.He certainly could have assumed the story was over when he ended up in jail.But, he didn’t.He seems to have never stopped believing. Sure he had dark times, but “the Lord was with [him]” (Gen. 39:2, 21) and we can actually read that in the story. But, Joseph didn’t have the benefit of reading the story. He was LIVING the story. And He chose to trust God.And look what happened.
So, wherever you are right now, whether you feel like your world has been turned upside down (like Joseph in the pit) or you feel like things couldn’t be better, what you must understand is that your story is still being written.Every day. *****
Funny.As I was talking to the girls, I realized I do the same things they do. I make assumptions all the time about how things will turn out.I look to the end of the story when I'm still at the beginning.But, I'm not the only writer here. I am partnered with God.
And the reality is that HE is the only who actually knows how the story will end.And I trust His ability to write a really great story.
I do.
