Our ultimate purpose in telling stories of transformation is to bring glory to God for an experience that would not have happened without our encounter with the Lord Jesus. Many people with a story to tell ask for some guidance in the telling. The simplest outline in three points is I. What it was like before. II. What happened. III. What it is like now.
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| Leigh being greeted and encouraged after sharing her story |
Shortly after graduation a couple of our young women were invited to share their stories at an annual meeting of a foundation, where I was also asked to speak. Before they told their stories, I shared this poem with which many people around the world of addiction are familiar. Both those who struggle with life dominating problems and those who work with them can relate to it.
Authobiography in Five Short Chapters
I walk down the street.
There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.
I fall in.
I am lost.... I am hopeless.
It isn't my fault.
It takes forever to find a way out.
I walk down the same street.
There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.
I pretend I don't see it.
I fall in again.
I can't believe I am in the same place.
But, it isn't my fault.
It still takes a long time to get out.
I walk down the same street.
There is a deep hole in the side walk.
I see it is there.
I still fall in... it's a habit.
My eyes are open
I know where I am.
It is my fault.
I get out immediately.
I walk down the same street.
There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.
I walk around it.
I walk down another street.
Portia Nelson (1980)
Many of us who are not struggling with a life dominating problem have a tendency to give up on the one who is by the end of the second chapter or surely by the third. The joy of working with the women at the Christian Women's Job Corps is walking beside those who get to the place of walking down another street. It is a special experience to hear the familiar yet unique stories of each woman and realize again what a life-transforming experience it is to come to know the Lord Jesus who lifts us out of our pits and set us on a new path.
