Your life story counts

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Author Joan Mute

…Introspection time with JBM

THE past weeks have been filled with recounts of the experiences, contributions and the legacy left by the late first Republican President of Zambia Dr. Kenneth Kaunda.

We mourn and celebrate his life. The enormous experiences through the stories told by many from all walks of life about Dr.  Kenneth Kaunda made me introspect on the fact that whatever series of experiences one has, that’s the story worth telling. This is because your story counts.

When we talk about life story, in this context it refers to your experiences in life from childhood to wherever you could be by now.  It is a compilation of various circumstances encountered so far and how you have been shaped by such.

Your story radiates what influences your thinking and how you perceive the world and life in general. It is those insignificant and significant moments of exposure to both good and storms of life that you go through that make your story.

One of the notable traditions in our home is where after family meal times my children enjoy listening to a series of experiences and encounters that form part of our life’s stories as parents.

Listening to their own stories as well is refreshing and gives us an opportunity to know them more.  Most experiences recounted whether at a time as parents were in primary, secondary or tertiary education level or outside academic life tends to reveal some principle(s) of life worth embracing.

This affirms the fact that every story counts. I only hope and pray that someday, somewhere certain key milestones expressed in my life’s story will be a ladder to their own experiences.

No matter how dark, ugly, demeaning and embarrassing your life’s story may be, remember it counts.  It counts because your life story has a hidden treasure and value with potential to impact and shape lives of others around you.

Some justifications of what makes your story count may include the following:

That God knows your story better and as long as He remains the orchestrator of those experiences you have had,  be sure to realise your story COUNTS!

Behind your story lies a consolation,   a reminder, a healing and a lesson for someone who may identify and resonates with your emotions and feelings behind the recounted experiences.

That your story would remind someone that they are not alone.

That a story has an underlining forewarning for someone and thus may save their lives from making a grave mistake in their choices.

It is through your life’s story that realities of pain, disappointment, regret, fear among others can be communicated to your generation and beyond.  On the other hand, it can radiate hope in amidst of despair. 

Facts of life point to the fact that every experience harsh or good has a purpose or mission attached to them. No experience of life is wasted even though sometimes if feels so.  God uses your circumstances and encounters of life to remind you of His greatness and how He remains your bravery and invincible army.

See your story from a vantage point realising that God can use it to accomplish so much greatness in other people’s lives.  Your story is tool in God’s hands no matter how you may hate it. This is why your story counts!

Jeremiah 29:11 God has good plans for you, plans to prosper you and not plans to harm you.  Plans to give you a future and a hope….

Nobody is a nobody and everybody is a somebody and hence their story matters. Your story counts! You did not go though those experiences for nothing.  Your story is likened to the unsung song that unlocks so much healing and shaping of lives.  It is that unsung song that reveals the realities of resilience, consistency, determination, forgiveness and success.

What is your story?  What have you been through and what impact have those circumstances left upon your life?  Your story can be an episode of the past or present or ongoing situations. But remember whatever episode it is, your story counts.

Is he not the God who takes the foolish things of the world to confound the wise?  That which seemingly is useless, valueless or rejected remains a powerful weapon God uses to overturn situations. Your story counts!

There is no need to look down on yourself because of where you have been or what your experiences have been, good or bad. There has been an invisible hand behind your circumstances and that is God.

 God has good plans for you, plans to prosper you and not plans to harm you.  Plans to give you a future and a hope…. (Jeremiah 29:11)

For the next version of introspection Time with JBM, check Kalemba every Wednesday.

Author: Joan Beulah Mute, is a Lecturer in Research Methods, Sociology and Law and Ethics in Public Health at the University of Lusaka.

For feedback or reactions, email joanbeulah@yahoo.com or follow on Facebook @Joan Mwanza Mute and Twitter @JoanMute

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