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Apr 14, 2024 06:00am

Both Sides

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“You are never too old to set another goal or to dream a new dream.” – C. S. Lewis

Everyone loves a good origin story. A story that captures our attention and makes us lean in and want to know more. How did it happen? When? What now? Marvel has made millions with the compelling stories of their superheroes and villains. But here in the real world, most of us are what we would consider “average”…not necessarily a superhero or a villain and certainly, no one would ever pay to hear our stories. Yet we all have one. A narrative that unfolds and tumbles out, awkwardly or brilliantly, to reveal why we are the way that we are. Our origin story is, in fact, the story that we tell over and over with words or in the choices we continue to make.

True origin stories rarely begin at birth. Instead, there’s always a backstory that leads up to a single life-changing event or series of events. What happens next leads to a turning point…followed by the current narrative.

Whether our current state of being is good or difficult, there will always be an event that changes the narrative of our lives. We begin to develop a “both sides” point of view. And how we choose to respond is everything. When we choose to allow our circumstances to turn us into the victim or villain in our origin stories, we can become stuck in a vicious cycle of pride, discontent, and harmful behavior.

Or…if we choose, in humility, to learn from all that has happened and allow the Holy Spirit to take the devastatingly broken and beautiful events of our backstory, we begin to move forward in a new narrative as the hero who chose to trust in the One who leads us perfectly and teaches us how to begin again and move forward in hope.

“No, in all these things, we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus.”
Romans 8:37-39

This, friends, is only the beginning of our journey together as we move forward imperfectly. We live. We are going to learn. Through the lens of experience, we are able to see the scope of our narrative from both sides. How will we respond as we move forward with this perspective? Led by God’s Hand in the light of scripture, let’s choose to walk together in hope.