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Can you recount the story of Adam & Eve? Noah? Moses? Jesus?
Now ask yourself... Can you tell your own sacred story?
I recently had the opportunity (and the challenge) to write a spiritual autobiography.
I began with a timeline. Above the line, I recorded life events, not all of them but those highs and lows that stood out to me. Below, I recorded people in my life, including those who may have made a brief but meaningful appearance. Then I tried to recall experiences related to my faith life. Similar to the Ignatian Examen, I looked for places I saw God, places I turned from God, places where God was at work but I totally missed it. I asked myself about my image of God…and how that image changed over time.
Then, I asked the Holy Spirit to guide me as I pondered these distinct but intertwined strands of my life. And then I wrote.
Writing my story helped me find turning points, personal growth, and a God hard at work trying to capture my heart.
Ignatius encourages us to look for God in all things, and I’m often tempted to only look outside of myself. But “all things” includes my own ups and downs, feelings and desires, imagination and experience.
This is my own graced history. And within it are the reasons I believe. It offers me hope, and someday might offer hope to someone else.
Have you reflected on your own sacred story?
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