It’s Ok to Have a Broken Story (It’s What Makes It Beautiful)

All of us have a story. That much is obvious. Not all of us, however, feel “allowed” to tell our stories. Others feel their story can only be “allowed” if it’s akin to “I once struggled with xyz thing (past tense) but I found inner strength” (present tense) type of tale.

Stories, however, in all their forms, rarely end in such a clean-cut way. Perhaps the Hallmark Christmas films (not throwing shade or two, I like my sentiment too) or maybe Nicholas Sparks novels (ok, I’m throwing a little shade here unless you’re a potential client; no shade at all in that case). Other than these two examples, we don’t tend to like stories with too neat and tidy of endings.

So why do we treat our stories differently?

Our inner narrator, who we often believe inherently and also believe to be the surest purveyor and distiller of truth, likes to call foul whenever we have an impulse to share our broken pieces with others.

“They won’t get it.”

Worse.

“They’ll judge you for it.”

Worst worst.

“You’re so stupid for thinking anybody would care about your trivial problems.”

My simple yet often difficult to implement advice?

Try on, just for a minute or two, a different narrator. Whether it have the voice of a close friend, a soothing verse/story received by God/church setting, a family member, a spouse, etc.

Who around you “smells like Jesus?” Who do you feel lighter around?

Who has spoken the most encouragement in your life? What were the exact words they said?

Even if it just serves as a “theme” or a “motif,” any message we received at any point in our lives that brought light into our darkness is a beautiful and meaningful thing to live from.

Furthermore, the one who spoke that blessing? That light?

They got brokenness too.

Present tense.

Which means that the beauty they saw and spoke into about you came from just as imperfect a source as the one receiving the affirmation of beauty.

After all, it’s ok to have a broken story precisely because that’s what makes the light evident in your story that much more beautiful.