While I was waiting for an appointment yesterday I heard a story that I wanted to share with you from the podcast “Unlocking the Magic."
Jason and his wife were sitting in their home one evening when they heard a loud crash. The crash was followed by a lot smoke coming from down the hall. Startled Jason got up ran down the hall to investigate the source of the noise and the smoke. He headed down the hall quickly toward the room where the smoke was coming from; his mind was racing. A lot of possibilities were filling his mind in that moment— none of them were positive or good. Opening the door to the room from which the smoke was coming from, he entered his daughter's nursery.
Jason’s daughter was standing up in her crib crying as the smoke filled her room. He looked across the room and found that a sedan had driven through the wall of their home directly opposite to his sleeping daughter. The driver lost control of his car, skidded through their yard, and impacted Jason’s home tearing a large hole in the house. The gentleman whose car hit the house was very nice and did not flee the scene, as Jason worried that he might, but the driver worried that everyone was okay. Jason held and comforted his daughter while the three of them waited for the authorities to come.
The police came and everything worked out fine. The car was towed away. Jason was safe. His daughter was safe. But, Jason would have to renovate/fix the house because there was now a giant hole that faced the street. A large plastic sheet was placed over the opening in the wall to cover the hole until the work could be completed that was needed to renovate the house. It would take a long time to complete, but again, they were safe.
The work progressed slowly. . . irritatingly slowly for some in the community. . . One of Jason's neighbors, as she looked upon the hole in the house, and plastic covering the wall said, “Wow your house is so ugly now.” She shook her head and walked away. This neighbor’s sentiment upset Jason a great deal. Did she not realize that gravity of what could have happened! After all, the plastic covering was only temporary. Where is her grace in the moment?
He spent a few days ’stewing’ over the comment unable to get past it. After a few days of stomping around his home and office, Jason consulted a good friend who gave him the following advice in response to the incident at his home:
What story are you going tell now?
Jason looked at his friend rather astonished. Why would his friend think along these lines given what Jason just told him! This was an issue of conflict and pain, what did story-telling have to do with any of that in this moment! But as this trusted friend continued to explain his perspective, his point became clear to Jason. This friend said that in every moment of our day the opportunity exists to tell our story in any way that we want. It can be a tragedy or it can be a triumph. The car crashing into his home can be only a painful account or it can be something that builds toward an undiscovered future. The choice was Jasons . . . and it is ours as well.
Certainly the car running into Jason’s home could have been far more tragic than it was. Someone could have been hurt. But Jason's family was safe. His daughter was unharmed. By now she does not even remember the story. How would Jason shape the narrative moving forward? What story was he going to tell about this incident to neighbors, friends, and co-workers?
The same opportunity is possible for us because we face all sorts of incidents and moments in our days. Some are minor and some stay with us for a long time. Some pass by quickly and some linger. . . They naw at our hearts and cause us to lose sleep because they are so serious.
What story are you going to tell when those moments happen to you? In Jason‘s case the story was this going to be a story about tragedy and a difficult renovation? Or was the story going to be about new possibilities and dreaming of something extraordinary because his family was safe after the accident?
Jason chose something extraordinary, I wonder if you might make the same choice?
Blessings,
Rev. Derek
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