Tell the Story

When I was a little girl, whenever I was tucked into bed, there were certain nightly routines that would take place. I always asked to have my arm rubbed, I always wanted to talk for a few minutes, but if given the chance, I loved hearing stories about when my parents were little.

There were certain stories that were my favorites: the time when my mom was helping to serve dessert to friends that were over for a dinner party and she slipped, the cake went everywhere and she broke her arm....or the stories of adventure my dad would tell me of hitch hiking with friends up to the top of ice covered hills to sled down the whole way. I loved that they had tales to tell. That they had been young like me, and they had truly lived life. They had faced excitement, and even struggle, but yet, they had been victorious, and lived to tell me the story.

Our lives tell stories. Stories of sorrow. Stories of celebration. Stories of surrender. Stories of love. We all have them. Sometimes it takes us a minute to compose them, or try to remember all the exact details, but if we look long enough, we can draw from our lives to tell the stories within.

I spent a lot of time with family this past week. We were unplugged and it was wonderful. We played board games with our nephews and built sandcastles with our kids. We played catch phrase and laughed til our sides ached. We ate lots of sea food and even more ice cream. But more than anything, we made memories. We made stories to tell. And hopefully one day my grandchildren will hear about how their mom or dad saw sea turtles hatch. How they played in the water until their toes were as shriveled as raisins. How their Grandaddy took them out in the raft, and how their cousins were like big brothers to them.

I can’t wait to see what their favorite stories are. But more than that, I can’t wait to tell them the stories of our life.

And speaking of telling stories, you should go check out this amazing highlight video of Rachel and Chad's wedding. It was such an honor and joy to be their wedding planner that I can't keep it to myself. Media Brewer did a fabulous job capturing their story, so go take a moment to enjoy. (The video takes a minute to load, but it is well worth the wait. It's definitely a perfect way to start out a Monday!)

(sea turtle picture credit: http://www.turtle-foundation.org/Projekte/IndonesienOstBorneo/tabid/255/Default.aspx)