I was reminded today about the power of a story. While at SWIC serving coffee and cocoa along side of several incredible Skyliners, I met a young man named Jonathon. He was a young man with special needs and I could tell his desire was more than a cup of coffee. He was looking for something deeper, a person to talk to, a relationship to feel. In a brief conversation, we discovered that he was homeless and living in a shelter. He would take the metro to SWIC to attend classes, but that didn't change the fact that he was without a home and on this day, he was hungry.
Since we were next to the cafeteria, I decided to buy him lunch. Often we are tempted just to provide food for a hungry person, but today I felt the urge to enjoy lunch with him and I'm glad I did. In the passing of life, we see someone who is hungry and maybe we feed them. We see someone who is homeless, so we help them find a shelter. All of that is well and good, but how often do we take time to talk with them and learn their story. I have been guilty of that more times than I can count.
Jonathon told me about his life, how he is a Christian and has been blessed by churches in the area who have helped him. He told me how he moved to the area in 2009 in search of a new life away from Chicago. He told me about living with friends for a few years and bouncing around in a few jobs. He told me how he had been unemployed since 2012 and had even stopped looking for work. Luckily, he has been able to attend classes at SWIC and is pursuing a career as a CNA.
We enjoyed a nice meal together and shared in a time of prayer together. Our time together ended and off he went with a "Thank You". I was blessed to be able to help him out in that moment, but even more so to hear his story. I certainly pray for his future as he pursues it.
His story reminds me of Chapter 3 in "The Story". Randy Frazee often speaks of "The Lower Story" and "The Upper Story", the story of what we go through on a daily basis in the moment and a greater story that plays out with God's guidance over time. As we live in the moment, we certainly experience good times and bad. We experience times of plenty and times of need. But the "Upper Story" is yet to be concluded. The fact is, no matter what we are experiencing right now, we don't know what the future has in store. That said, I have always believed that God has a plan for each of us.
We spend our lives pursuing "Our Dreams" and fail to realize "His Dreams." Sometimes we don't see our aspirations become reality, eventually slamming our heads into a brick wall when "our dreams" aren't realized. As a result, we give up. Others make a bold decision for something different...to trade "our dreams" in for another's....God's Dreams....not just our story, but His Story.
That's what Joseph did in the book of Genesis. He had some pretty big dreams. But as his story played out, those dreams seemed to be squashed at every turn. His faith in God remained strong. He trusted in God's ultimate plan. He trusted in God's dreams for his life. Joseph's life was a roller coaster thrill ride. One minute a favored son, the next minute a victim of brotherly jealousy. One minute a slave, the next in charge of an Egyptian official's house. One minute in prison, the next in charge of Egypt itself.
He didn't focus on the "Lower Story" (his story). He focused on the "Upper Story" (God's story). He could have lost his life getting caught up in the struggling details of his life, instead he chose to focus on a better story.
You can do the same. If your life's dream has stalled, have you looked to God? Maybe your dream is realized and it's not all you thought it would be, have you looked to God? Maybe He has a better dream for your life, not according to the world's standard, but God's criterion. His dream for you is part of His Story and it is certainly an incredible story to tell.
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