Splendors
Here’s a story for you. This happened to me at a Walmart cash register one afternoon:
Me: "I'd like to buy this wooden crate, but it's broken. Can I get a discount?"
Cashier lady and manager: "We can give you $10 off."
Me: "Okay, sure."
Cashier lady (while cashing me out): "You could always wait ‘til we get more in. With this you gotta be careful of the splendors, you can get splendors with that. Splendors aren't good."
Me (thinking to myself): “Hmmm… doe she mean splinters?"
Storytelling
I absolutely love telling stories, but what I love even more is listening to good stories. It takes work to be a good storyteller. You have to practice the delivery quite a bit. While I was working as a missionary a few years back, I participated in a fundraising training camp. The main thing we practiced was how to deliver a good story.
We learned how to take the listener through a story as if they were there with us. We learned to narrate in a way that helps our audience visualize everything we're saying. It wasn't easy, but so worth the process.
Telling a story takes practice, but I think the harder part is coming up with a story to tell in the first place. A fellow writer friend gave me one piece of advice that has stuck with me for years. He said, "Learn to mine your life for stories." I refer to his advice often.
Unless you're a naturally good storyteller, I think it's hard to mine our own lives for stories because we’re so busy living them. We all know how fast-paced life can be. We quickly live our moments, so how often do we tell them?
Telling our stories is just as powerful as living them. One main theme behind my entire blog site is to empower others to share their stories. Share how you've survived tragedy, share the miracles you've witness or experienced. Tell the stories you are presently living. Why? Because your story is significant. You have the opportunity to invite others into deeper connection with you and with God all through telling a story! Your experiences can reflect God’s faithfulness or joy. Your stories echo the ability to see things in a new way. Share the big stories and the seemingly small ones too!
I'm not just talking about stories that are distinctly faith based, but moments that are sprinkled with adventure, expriences that feel mundane, stories you recall just for fun, ones that impacted you in a lasting way, and moments that express pain or sorrow. This mining practice not only improves your storytelling, but can cultivate more gratitude towards day-to-day things we normally dismiss. It comes down to paying attention.
I have a folder in my notes app actually called "Mine your life for stories." It contains a collection of random stories and anecdotes I've lived. As I re-read the "Splendors" one, I just laughed while re-living that moment.
Here's one more story from my collection:
One morning, I drove to Tim Horton's before work to eat breakfast and sit outside in the morning sun. While enjoying my breakfast outside, a bee started buzzing around me. I quickly stood up and ate my bagel while I watched this annoying bee take my space. I was so frustrated that it was interrupting my quiet time.
About three minutes later a man comes out of the cafe and in passing he says, "So, they found you?" The man was referring to the bees. I reply, "I literally hate bees!"
It was a kind interaction.
The next day, I drove to the same Tim Hortons for a similar routine. I thought to myself, "Hopefully, minus the bees!" I purchased my bagel, and I’m about to walk outside when I hear: "Did you bring any bee repellent?
It was the same guy from the day before! He was sitting with a group of men who looked like they meet at Tim Horton's every morning.
I smiled and said, "Oh no, I should've though!”
On the corner of Buffalo and Howard road, there are regulars who meet at Tim Horton's every morning -- humans and bees.
Challenge for the Week
Mine your life for stories —
Write down one story a day. The story doesn’t have to be long, it can be any interaction you have with others or moments you experience by yourself. This is important: Don't judge your stories as good, bad, or not enough, just pay attention and record any moments worth noting. Write about making breakfast, a conversation you had with a Starbucks barista, or something funny your kid said. If it made you feel something, record it!
At the end of the week, look back at your collection of stories, read them, and take a moment to enjoy the week you’ve lived.
Tell or read one of your stories to a friend! Ahem, you can pick me to be a listener!
Bonus challenge —
If you’re feeling prompted to tell a bigger story, but it feels still too painful to record, you can try writing one line of the story a week. There’s no rush or pressure to tell those stories, but sometimes writing them out just for you can be therapeutic.
Dear Storyteller
Dear Storyteller, you have a significant story to share. So, tell it.
I can’t wait for you to see what happens when you start recording and telling the moments you live. I think you'd be surprised by the connection you build with others. Because that’s what it’s about, connection.
May this practice lead to a greater awareness and understanding of others and yourself. May it lead to thankfulness and joy. May it lead to deeper connection, generosity, and overall peace about the work God is doing in and through you.
So tell me, what’s one story you want practice telling?