🙌It's the Friday Call to Worship!🙌

I clocked a new level of “frazzled” this week. I couldn’t even tolerate a worship song playing in the background of my overstimulating life. Surprising even to myself, I responded by burying myself in stories. The memoir of an admirable Christian leader played in my headphones while I folded towels and mashed potatoes. I read the journal entries of a 19th-century woman’s journey toward God when I would normally turn to social media. Internalizing the way others told their stories quieted my own story just enough to give me a small measure of perspective.

I’ve spent a thousand hours praying for my three sons - asking God for wisdom to meet their very different needs, begging His Spirit to fill the cracks left by my humanity. This week, I started to wonder how my boys will tell their stories. They will always be a part of my story, and I will be a part of theirs. But we will tell our stories very differently.

I wonder if the prodigal son in Luke 15 told his grandchildren his story as a rebellious runaway or a dearly beloved son?  Will my boys be written by bold love and unquestionable belonging? Or will their autobiographies be heavy with hardship and hurt? Will mine?

And what if another overwhelmed mom in another time in history read my story? Would the pages tell of what happened to me and what I achieved? Or would I be a character in a much bigger narrative, one with room for tarry and trouble alongside glory and goodness? We often don’t get much choice in our life’s events, but we do get to choose what, or Who, marks us most.

Today’s song is one I’d be proud for my boys to share as the chorus of their stories.  Listen to “I Got Saved” by Elevation Worship.