I love books and everything about them. I love turning the pages and reading to discover what is next. I love opening a new book and smelling the fresh, crisp pages that yearn to be turned. I love beginnings and endings but impatience fills me when the end cannot get here soon enough. I love imagining myself playing the role of different characters and I long to fill the pages with my own story – what is, what has already been written and what is yet to be. One book is so much more than words, sentences, chapters, beginnings and endings. The beauty is what lies between the bookends that mark beginning to end. The beauty is the story that waits to be told and shared with others.
Looking at life looks a lot like a book with its title, chapters, prologue and perhaps a sequel. The title describes who we are in a few short words. The chapters share the seasons of our lives. The prologue announces us to the world and a sequel is the gift of continuing the story God gave us in new and exciting ways.
As I reflect on my own story, I skim over the chapters that I have now finished.
Chapter 1 – Birth
Chapter 2 – Childhood
Chapter 3 – Starting school and the elementary years ( learning to read and the opening of my eyes to the beauty of words)
Chapter 4 – High school and graduation – What do I want to be when I grow up?
Chapter 5 – College – working toward my education degree
Chapter 6 – My first teaching job – I love kindergarten
Chapter 7 – My career as a teacher
Chapter 8 – 30 years and now Retirement!
Beginning Soon…
The Sequel – My next Steps in Retirement- New beginnings
The chapters of our lives are not a set number of pages, words or sentences. It is God’s plan laid out beautifully, captivating us with the beauty and love that marks the seasons of our lives. It describes the ups and downs, the beginnings and endings, the messy and amazing throughout each word, picture and statement. The story of our lives is a reflection of Jesus’ love. It is the blessing of God’s grace throughout the story that He chose for us and continues to write for each of us according to His plan.
[Tweet “Our story is God’s beautiful plan laid out in each chapter leaving a legacy in each written word.”]
Our story is always beautiful in the eyes of God and full of the love He feels for each of us. God writes the pages of our stories to share His legacy with the world. Our story is His story when we allow His words to collide with ours in the very choices we make in our lives.
Our legacy is written in the story of our lives. Aligning our stories with God will leave a legacy of honoring Him in each of our chapters. I want my story to create a legacy for my children that tells of a live well-lived and one that pointed to God in the paths that I chose. I want the bookends of my life, my beginning and end, to stand strong against the test of time because God was my beginning and end.
But you are not like that, for you are a chosen people. You are royal priests, a holy nation, God’s very own possession. As a result, you can show others the goodness of God, for he called you out of the darkness into his wonderful light. 1 Peter 2:9 NLT
Our stories began because we were chosen by God. Our legacy continues because we said “yes” to God and the story He created for us.
Is your story a reflection of God? How will you continue your legacy in your story?
In grace and peace,
Mary
Linking with these lovely ladies this week:
Holly #TestimonyTuesday
Kelly #RaRalinkup
Jennifer #TellHisStory
Beth #WeddedWednesday
Susan #DanceWithJesus
This is really thought-provoking. I sure aspire to make God’s story reflect on my story. Challenging.
So glad to see you here Lux. I love that God’s story is our own and we need only embrace it. I can’t say that it is always easy or smooth but it sure can be amazing. Hope your week is blessed.
What a beautiful post, made me realize how fortunate we all are to live new chapters! Love your philosophy 🙂
So sweet of you stop here today and offer some encouragement. Praying we all may embrace our stories and seek to make them the best they can be. Have a beautiful day!
Oh, I hope my story is a legacy of obedience to God! I’m kind of a stubborn, bull-headed sort of person, but I can learn! I look forward to reading about your next chapter :)!
Hmmm! I know where you are coming from because even though I made out my story to be nice and neat, it really is full of bumps and bruises. I try not to always dwell on the messy because I love to encourage others but digging into the mess can produce a more beautiful story than we even imagined. Blessings to you my friend!
“Our story is His story when we allow His words to collide with ours in the very choices we make in our lives.” I pray I allow His words to collide with mine and honor Him with my choices. Thank you, Mary, for a beautiful perspective of our lives when God is our Author. : )
Our stories our beautiful and are orchestrated by God but He decided to give us free choice which is when the messy and challenging enters in. I pray for all that we allow God to be the Author and hand over the control of our stories to Him. I am so thankful that you stopped by here today.
Oh I love the smell of books! See, when you put it that way our story seems so orderly, all neatly planned… But it sure doesn’t feel that way when you’re stuck in the middle of the chapter! We have to remember that when God is the author of our lives He has a plan and He is in control.
#DanceWithJesus
I did kind of glorify our stories a bit just to point out that we go through chapters or seasons but God does pull us through to the next when He is ready. I know there is a lot of messy in my story in every chapter that would be multiple posts to even make a dent. I am so grateful that God is in charge because He knows exactly what to do when I veer off course to get me back on the path. Blessed you stopped by to visit.
This is beautiful! So glad to have found you via #DancewithJesus today!
I especially loved :”Our story is His story when we allow His words to collide with ours in the very choices we make in our lives.” Just lovely. So encouraging!
Blessings!
So glad you are here today, Bethany! I am always intrigued by story and how each person’s unfolds. There is something so reassuring about knowing that God is writing every word of our stories out of all the love He feels for us. Thank you for being here today and for encouraging me.
Loved your analogy of books and life, chapters and seasons. You are right on.
Coming to you from #DWJ.
Thank you! So glad you stopped by and love that we connected through #DanceWithJesus.
I can’t wait to see how the next chapters unfold in your life my friend!
Thank you! After I get some rest and clear my teacher brain, who knows what could happen! 🙂
I’ve always loved the concept of God writing my story. It helps me to remember to let Him be the “Author” and not me! In fact, it bugged me when the new NIV took out “Author” from Hebrews 12:2 and replaced it with “Pioneer of our faith” instead. I agree, that God is the Pioneer of my faith, but there is a beautiful unfolding that “Author” represents. Thanks for your inspiring take on the chapters of your life, Mary! I just know the best is yet to be “written” for you!
I love the image of a beautiful unfolding with God as our Author. I know that God has already orchestrated my life for His good and know that more is still to come. Thank you for the vote of confidence that the best is yet to come because I truly believe that too. So thankful for your friendship!
I’m glad that “story” has made such a comeback in our culture as we recognize its value. And God is quite the master at storytelling! So thankful that he is our author and not we ourselves. I know your next chapter of retirement will be full of interesting twists and turns to bring honor to the Father.
Your encouragement brings me so much joy today as I sit here and reflect on 30 years of teaching. Taking a little time to look back at this chapter is important as I move onto the next. Almost sounds like another blog post!!! So glad to see you here and leave me such sweet words to carry with me today.
Mary, what a precious post…God is the author of our story from the moment He knits us together in our mother’s womb until we see Him Face-to-face…many blessings to you as you continue your sweet legacy in retirement ❤️
Thank you Beth! It is so reassuring to know that God is the author of our stories. Everything about that gives me a sense of peace. So blessed by your visit here and encouragement.
Hi Mary – two more days until you start the next chapter! Can’t wait to see what God has planned for you.
Thinking of you as you close the book on teaching elementary school!
Love,
Karen
Thank you friend! Two days and I am not sure of all the feelings I am being overwhelmed with right now. Love you!
I’ve thought of this a lot recently . . . the chapters of our lives. And while I still mourn the loss of someone I loved dearly, I reflect on how grateful I am for the chapter we had together. Just good reflections here, friend. Thinking of you much. xoxo
Some chapters are short and seem to be a story all their own. The season is exactly that and does not carry over into other chapters of our lives. I pray that all of our chapters are led by God even when they are difficult. Love you and so glad you stop by and encourage me.
I, too, love books, and so much enjoyed your post reminding us how we’re God’s creation and our stories are God’s story working through us! I’m certainly looking to see where He’s guiding me for the next chapter in my life, as I’m in a huge transition..one thing I need to remember is He writes in our stories promises that are always better than we imagine!
I also need to remember that God’s story for us will always be better than I ever imagined. That is a beautiful thought to pull us through those challenging days. Thank you for encouraging me and for stopping by today.
You know I love me some books. So obviously I love this post and can’t wait to see what your next chapter brings!! xoxo
I know you do and that is one of the reasons that I love you girl! One more day and a new reality will begin and who knows what will be next. So glad you are part of this journey with me. Love you!
I love the idea of our stories continuing because we said yes to God. How beautiful. How true and encouraging that is to know there are so many more pages of adventure with him. Thank you Mary! Awesome! Cheering you on from the #RaRalinkup on Purposeful Faith.
What I love is that God is our Author and He always writes beautiful stories. Aren’t we so lucky that God wants to write our stories and has beautiful plans laid out for each chapter? Thank you for cheering me on! I am praying for all that we embrace God’s story as our own and let each chapter unfold as He has beautifully planned. Blessings friend!
mmm … I do love the peek at your bookshelf, Mary! so many inviting reads all lined up, ready to be selected and savored!
may the summertime give you that opportunity …
hugs!
Thank you Linda! I always love seeing you pop up over here even if you are just peeking at my bookshelf! Have a beautiful week!
“Our story is beautiful in the eyes of God.” I love that. I have such a passion for hearing people’s stories. Thank you for sharing this!
There is nothing like story – ours, someone else’s or God’s. I know that all three eventually are intertwined. Blessed you are here today. Praying that we all are open to God’s story becoming one with our own. In grace and peace!
Hello Mary, I love the way broke own the chapters like a book. God knows our story even before we start living it out. He gives us our story a beautiful conclusion too.
3 days more WOW!
Do enjoy your last moments there. OK?
Many Blessings my dear friend.
Thank you friend! Everything is surreal and full of many emotions but it is so good! Blessed as always that you are here! Have a beautiful day!
What stories God writes in our lives! How exciting to be embarking upon your next chapter! Hoping my next chapter is starting soon, but still waiting to see how God will unveil it.
I’m excited to hear about your next chapter too. I know it will be amazing. Thank you for your encouragement. Let’s pray together that we are open to the gentle leading of God in our lives and keep our hearts open to following Him in all we do. In grace and peace!
Mary,
Mary,
Good morning… and so good to be linking up next to you at #RaRalinkup. It is encouraging to think about all the great chapters God wrote into the lives of (I won’t say old), but rather mature characters in the Bible. I am inspired by this because, as a middle aged retired teacher myself, I hope and pray God still has a few good chapters left in my book 🙂 Loved your analogy that our lives are a book…a living legacy that reflects and mirrors God working in our lives. This gives me encouragement to ponder just what I want those chapters to look like.
Blessings to you this day,
Bev
I love that we have a connection with teaching. What a blessing it has been for me. I believe and know that God continues to write our stories and as we continue to reach out to Him, we can be assured that our legacy will be a reflection of Him. I am excited for my sequel and will be praying for all as we reflect on what’s next and how our story will continue to unfold. Blessings for peace and grace!