Storytelling’s something I’ve focused a lot on lately. I’m constantly learning how God gives His story to us through the Bible and how He reveals different parts to our understanding as we write our own story with Him. Our focus here is to share those stories— ours and His and ours with Him— and just let everyone know how loved they are and the good that He’s done in our lives.
Today was a really cool illustration of that. Some background— we’re doing ministry this month at Place of Grace, an organization that works with children from slum communities to give them a place to play and be loved and to learn the Gospel. Here’s their website link: https://www.placeofgracebangkok.org/contact-donate.html. They’re fundraising right now to set up a Christian school to teach the kids English and a safe house, so definitely check out what they’re doing there. More on that in another post later!
But one thing they do from the Gospel side is discipleship groups. I got to help with one tonight and it was amazing! Two of the kids opened up playing guitar and singing worship songs in Thai; we caught the melody and sang the English lyrics, all of us praising the same God who is bigger than language or oceans or poverty or anything we can comprehend. Then we read Psalm 91 (also with them in Thai and us in English). This passage talks about God’s protection, and it was just so perfect for these kids who grow up in a neighborhood where children do go missing and end up in the sex trade, a neighborhood so dangerous that we can’t share any names or photos of any of the kids anywhere, just in case. A neighborhood where children do participate in crime and sell drugs and follow their parents’ lifestyle because the Thai education system gives no path out for them. But God radically promises that He will protect each and every one of His children when they’re following Him.
Then Gillian, one of the missionaries who founded Place of Grace, asked the kids when God protected them. A few gave quick stories in rapid Thai. Gillian turned to me and my teammates and asked us if we had any stories.
And I did. I had a story to tell, but I wasn’t sure if the truth of it would be lost in translation. Another one popped into my mind. “I got in a car accident, but now I pray whenever I drive and I haven’t been in another wreck,” I said simply. Gillian translated and the kids nodded.
That was so dumb, I found myself thinking as the kids worked on a craft project. These kids go through so much and all I need protection from in my story is car accidents? And it’s not like I had anything crazy happen— it’s not like I got in a wreck and the cars miraculously put themselves back together or anything. Everyone walked away unhurt, and both involved parties were so gracious, and the airbags didn’t go off and kill the baby that the girl in the passenger seat of the other car was holding. That was God’s blessing for sure, but it’s hard to compare what is and what could have been. Surely, I thought, my story failed to uplift and maybe even hurt our ministry.
“What are some of your fears?” Gillian asked the kids in Thai. They went around the circle, listing things they were afraid of, and Gillian translated. Ghosts, the dark, dogs, and—
“She’s scared of car accidents,” Gillian said.
And then another kid said the same thing. And another.
I looked around the circle, seeing the situation in a new light. Yes, there are scarier things easily accessible here than at home, but there are also pretty much no traffic laws. Of course people get hurt and killed in car accidents. Of course kids are scared of that.
And even that condensed, two sentence version of my car crash story conveyed the truth of God’s protection in a simple way. I think faith at its heart really is simple, too.
Some stories seem bigger than others. Insurmountable obstacles overcome by God’s grace. I don’t have many of those stories. But just as life isn’t a highlight reel, maybe our stories of our life with Christ aren’t, either. Maybe a story as simple as faith is all we need to share.
