Someone is waiting to hear your story
Limpopo River, Mozambique by Cary Humphries (National Archives, public domain)
An excerpt from Sharing Your Catholic Faith Story: Tools, Tips, and Testimonies, Chapter One What Is a Faith Story? Part 3 of 4 parts
Each of us has an exclusive story that no one except God fully knows. Our experiences of conversion, renewal, and healing make up our faith story. God writes our faith story day by day, event by event, and decision by decision as we respond to that divine spark of his life that he created within us.
Here’s the short version of my faith story: I grew up in a churchgoing Protestant family. I gave my life to the Lord at a youth retreat when I was fifteen, but I kept my personal relationship with Jesus a precious secret I couldn’t share with anyone. Three years later, when my father died suddenly, the Lord was the only one who could comfort me—and I knew he would never fail me. I fell in love with a Catholic in college and married him in the Catholic Church. Over the next three years, I gradually discovered that I belonged in the Catholic Church. Here I could fully develop my relationship with God in the fullness of the faith.
If we met, what would you ask me about this brief synopsis of my faith story? How would you get to the heart of my conversion decision? If we sat for a while, how would I get to the heart of your story?
Whether you realize it fully or not, you—yes you!— and every baptized Christian inherit the Christ-given mission to evangelize. In Evangelization in the Modern World (Evangelii Nuntiandi) Pope Paul VI states, “Above all the Gospel must be proclaimed by witness. All Christians are called to this witness, and in this way they can be real evangelizers” (21).
And whether you realize it or not, you, like every baptized Christian, have a story of what God has done to transform your life. Your story is intended to reach specific people and to impart God’s love to them, giving them hope. You alone are capable of reaching these particular people, because your unique story connects to theirs and because the Holy Spirit is already opening their hearts to the message they can hear only from you. Yes, someone is waiting for your story.
If you are a novice storyteller, having to explain how God works in your life may seem too vague and mysterious a project. Don’t worry—first you can wade and splash near the riverbank until you learn how to enjoy swimming.
Next time: Your Catholic Faith Story Defined, Part 4 of What is a Faith Story?
Link to What’s Is a Faith Story? series
© 2019 Nancy HC Ward
Read more about how you can evangelize through your personal story in Sharing Your Catholic Faith Story: Tools, Tips, and Testimonies, by Nancy HC Ward, available on Amazon.com
