The Power of Your Story
I was on a Zoom call today when I got a text. “I have a quick story to share.” Let me back up.
Some Context...
I had spent the previous ninety minutes with my Zoom collaborators brainstorming around how to develop and inspire leaders over the next several months in a way that would build upon the present spirit and strategic direction of our organization. Stories of those on the call were shared with the group. Personal and vulnerable ones. Some folks said it was the first time they’d felt emotional on a business call in a long while. It was a goosebumps-and-misty-eyes kind of experience in many ways.
Then, as this undercurrent around the power of human story began to bubble up with overwhelming punctuation, my phone rang and the above text came through. A quick story. I called back the leader with the story to share and walked around my house buzzing with energy and excitement as I listened. It was an amazing story. I laughed, had goosebumps again - the whole nine yards. Another overwhelming feeling began to ignite my humanity: This was going to be the first of many stories to follow. I can literally feel it in my bones. My work is about to get even more fun over the days to come with this movement of human story and purpose.
Circling back.
Here’s the thing…whenever there is a significant moment of personal growth and inspiration at work, I think it’s important to circle back around and try to connect the dots to the spiritual. God is absolutely in the details of our lives, don’t you think? He is orchestrating our work, our conversations, our friendships, and our stories. So, what’s the gospel takeaway?
Well, I’m honestly still marinating on it, but maybe it’s this: There is power in human stories! One story can ignite an endless string of impact on other people’s lives. YOUR STORY can inspire others and cause a cascade of Kingdom change. Truly!
“A life is not important except in the impact it has on other lives.”
Here’s an example that for some reason keeps coming to mind. Fifteen to twenty years ago while working in the Talent space of a large healthcare organization, our mission was clear: We saved lives. The heroes were the clinicians. But then, Leon Ivory. Leon was an environmental services technician. He cleaned the floors of the hospital on the night shift. He was often unseen, but certainly not without presence.
One night, a patient of ours passed away. Their family members received the news and walked through this terribly difficult moment in the hallways of the hospital where Leon had just been. He sang hymns that night as he usually did, and while mopping the floor, he saw them. He saw their emotions, their experience, as it unfolded. He stopped what he was doing, offered to pray with them, and he touched them. The truth was, Leon Ivory provided a ministry of healing that night for those family members, and they wrote a letter to the leadership of the hospital system to share what a powerful impact he’d had on their lives right there in the freshly mopped hallway. The power of one.
We shared Leon’s story at the center of a campaign to inspire our entire organization to live out the “Power of One,” each in our own roles and unique ways. We let the truth sink in to the deep places of our own hearts that whether you’re holding a mop, pen or a scalpel, you can bring hope and healing to the people around you every day. I will never forget this. Together, we were ignited and united toward something much greater than ourselves.
Coming full circle.
Today, the same electric spirit is brewing among those I’m privileged to work alongside. Therefore, it’s time to circle back to connect the dots once again, and here’s what God is impressing on my heart. God has given you and me a story. If we know Jesus, then ours is the story of grace, forgiveness, rescue and boundless love. It’s the story that those around us most need to hear. If we’re honest, being a part of God’s bigger story of redemption and love is what each of our hearts has always been longing for. Whatever letters God has used to pen that story for each of us individually, I pray today that we recognize the hope and healing power in the message. And with each of our narratives comes an invitation to those listening to become a part of the God Story themselves.
Your story is powerful.
