Headlines. Lately, I’ve been consumed with them. Arnold Schwarzenegger, Andrew Weiner. Bishop Eddie Long, Casey Anthony trial. When I don’t have time to read the news, I quickly catch up by listening to CNN, HLN or one of the morning magazine shows. I will get a 2 minute story and run off to my day, thinking I’ve really gotten the “story.” I continue on with my day repeating the story of others as I get coffee or make copies….as if I KNOW.
Recently, it occurred to me that I really don’t have the story at all. I know nothing. I have a headline and a two minute sound bite or a journalists perspective. And even that is not the whole story. It is only a small, very small version of it.
What if someone walked away from my life, your life, my space, your space with a headline based on what they see today or what they‘ve gathered from moments in your past. . And of course, the headline needs to be enticing and over the top. No one opts for a boring headline. What would your headline be today? Is that really your story or my story? Would anyone know the whys, the heartbreaks, the obstacles, the baggage, the guilt, the fears, the hopes and dreams that we struggle with or hold close to our heart each day. All of us have them. And it definitely makes each of our stories different and complex. Even with the obnoxious and heinous behavior depicted in the recent headlines, I feel a sort of compassion for them, realizing that I don’t know their whole story.
And this is what helps me between breaths. I realize that there is more to ME than what is happening at this moment. Sometimes we forget that there is more to our own story. Don’t define yourself by one act, one mistake, one failure, or even the second or third. Our story goes on. It’s God’s gift to us. I think of all the stories in the Bible - those that go on for chapters and books, and those that are just a few verses. Rahab, Job, Joseph, Esther, Mary. Even with those stories - we tend to fill in the blanks and come up with our conclusions or explanations.
It all comes back to Grace. Accepting this truth about yourself and others is a gift of Grace. A reminder that God is still at work and His love is beyond all that we can think or conceive. That there is more. So much more. That His love never ends. He is there ….writing a glorious ending to our messy story.
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