Every Friday the prompt goes up and #fmfparty slows down. We breathe out our hearts, sharing the hurts and the joys and splitting hearts and words wide open. Come join us? During the month of October, I’ll be doing my darn best to fit the FMF prompt (today’s is LONG) with 

If I had a dollar for every time I’ve heard it, you better believe I could put a down payment on next semester’s college textbooks.

“My story isn’t interesting or special. Nothing big has happened to me.”

I sit in coffee shops and at tables in the cafeteria and ask “So what’s your story?” only to receive blank stares and muttered words… “My story? Oh, it’s nothing too special.”

False.

Wrong.

Incorrect.

Negative.

So I fill the empty space and explain that I simply disagree – politely of course, but with passion – because every story matters. Whether you speak from a stage or stand behind a podium; whether your story is “boring” and full of “regular days.”

It’s not about how long it takes you to tell your story or how many interesting twists and turns and unexpected chapters you have – it’s only and all about the One writing it.

That’s why I sign my emails “only and all grace and peace.”

Only and all.

Only for Him. Only by Him. Only through Him.

Only Him.

All for Him. All by Him. All through Him.

Yep – it’s all Him.

You could be in chapter 27 and spending your days wrestling kids to after school activities, staying up late doing 3rd grade math with your child, and trying to figure out something for dinner besides Kraft mac ‘n cheese. I need you to know those endless days don’t add up to a short or boring story.

You aren’t regular and there’s nothing about your story that’s ordinary.

Maybe you’re a sophomore in college and life has held more surprises and changes than you ever imagined. Who you are today is not who you were two years ago – and you’re so very thankful. There have been rough patches, both out of your control and consequences of the choices you’ve made. You’re 20-years-old and have lived more life than you can sum up before the coffee turns cold. I need you to know it’s okay to share and it’s okay to admit that there was darkness.

You aren’t being long-winded or prideful about where you’ve come from, you’re pointing to what He has done in you.

It isn’t about the extravagance of your story, it’s about the extravagance of the One writing.

It isn’t about the number of chapters or what fills the pages, it’s about the One holding the pen.

No matter the length or the page number or how long it takes to tell it all, your story matters.

THIS IS DAY SIXTEEN. YOU CAN FIND THE ENTIRE SERIES –>.

{Photo source 1, 2}