Writing Your Life In Pencil

When you think about your life story, how do you see it?  A pre-printed script that was handed to you at an early stage?  A book that you don’t find very interesting, but feel like you should finish all the way to the last page?  What if we decided to write our lives in pencil, not pen?  With a big fat eraser to erase the mistakes.  And what if we understood that we can cut and paste and move the parts of our story around to suit where we are today.  That we can dream and envision the ending and write our own plot to get there.  And if we don’t like what we’ve written, we can erase the bad parts and begin again.

I want you to think about a manuscript.  A handcrafted piece of art that you are writing every day.  These words are important:  you are writing every day.  The writer, and that’s you, darling, decides on the main characters, the plot, the setting, and the overarching theme.  Is the plot one of daily disappointment?  Or one of embracing your season of life and seeing the beauty in it.  Is it a story of trudging forward on a path that seemed right twenty, thirty years ago?  Or is it choosing the best parts and fitting them into the person you’ve become and following another thread. 

We seem to forget sometimes that we get to choose these parts of our story.  What do we want the ending to be?  Everyone’s story is different—what is yours?  How will you get there?  What steps do you need to take today to make it come true tomorrow?  It can be a little overwhelming to think of the whole, so take it in chapters. 

“I want to grow old with my love.”  Then take care of the two of you now, so, that your relationship grows with time and care. 

“I want to go on grand adventures and see the world.”  Then plan how you can do that with your resources.  Is it the fancy hotels and resorts you want to see or is it the heart-stopping beauty of God’s creation?  Those are two very different things and one is much easier to attain than the other.

Who are the characters going to be in your story?  Are there people in your life that you wouldn’t want to include in your manuscript?  Is there anything you can do to change that dynamic?  If not, then begin to release them, with love.  If your interactions with them are hurtful to you, chances are they are not a good thing for the other person, either.  I know there are some relationships that are harder to disengage with.  Prayerfully consider how you should proceed.  Make sure those people are not affecting how you love and treat the people who love you. 

Not everyone should be in your core group of people.  Choose wisely.

Where does your story take place?  Is most of the action at work?  Is that where you spend most of your time and energy? 

Or is it taking up too much of your heart space and you’ve been neglecting the home where you long to be, with your people? 

See if your reality aligns with your manuscript.  Work is a blessing from above and fulfills a proper space and purpose in our lives, but it’s not the whole story.    Make sure the setting of your life is appropriate for you and for the story you want to tell.

And, lastly:  What is the theme of your life’s story?  What do you want people to think of when they think of the places you’ve been and the things you’ve done and the people you’ve loved?  This should direct all the other components.  This is what matters.  Fortunately, we have an Editor who has given us all the prompts we need to write a life story that matters and that will be a legacy we truly want to leave.  Seek Him and He will show you the way.

If you feel stuck, I pray you will find a way forward towards better and brighter days.  

If you love your story, I hope you will cherish it and share it with the world.  

And if you’re just beginning to write your story, I hope you seek His wisdom and plan for you.   “…for your Father knows what you need even before you ask.” (Matthew 6:8)