Shine Like A Star: Your Story Matters!
By: Susan Deborah Schiller
There's a life message in you and your life story is your message. Your message may be framed in a blog, a book, a piece of art work, a poem, a dance, or a song, but whatever the form it's a ray of beauty and truth. It makes you a star, as you shine in the universe!
My mission on this blog is to showcase 100 stories that illustrate the truth: True Love Prevails. These stories build a bridge to a world where "abused no more" is a reality. You never know which story may be the tipping point that changes one life, one family, one community, or the whole world.
The family is the backbone of society, and sociopathic abuse on all levels has created a great darkness of divorce, divisions, gaps, and all-out war on the family. My own family, included. But I see bridge-builders and gap-fillers with redemptive stories that are rewriting the future, God's way.
My life message is housed in a book-in-progress called "On the Way Home". I believe Papa God is calling us Home to a love-based reality. Like the promise in the very last book of the Old Testament, the hearts of parents and children are being reunited. Disease and disability are transformed into health and wealth. It is written!
I see this as a personal fulfillment of a life verse God gave me from Isaiah…
"I will go before you and make the rough places smooth; I will shatter the doors of bronze and cut through their iron bars. "I will give you the treasures of darkness And hidden wealth of secret places, So that you may know that it is I, The LORD, the God of Israel, who calls you by your name." – Isaiah 45:2-3
My own story, recorded in "On the Way Home," is a picture of Christianity-gone-awry, both in my personal life and in my career as a full-time minister. I was the perfect prey for satanic entrapment in cult-type churches and it took a churchquake to knock out the false foundation. Aftershocks of deconstruction followed for many years before I began to find my way to true freedom.
There were times when I walked through my day with a pocket Bible never more than arm's length distance and I read voraciously, memorizing whole chapters and books of the Bible. I was desperately hungry and thirsty. There were times when I could barely look at a Bible, let alone read one. I was desperately lonely and rejected, betrayed and abandoned by those I thought were my friends. In both times, I kept journals and recorded my unfolding story.
At one point, several years ago, God told me to publish my journals.
“Stories have to be told or they die, and when they die, we can't remember who we are or why we're here.” – Sue Monk Kidd, in "The Secret Life of Bees"
It's the hardest thing I've ever done, publishing the story of my life. But inside my life story are treasures that I can share with each reader, and that treasure is like a Light shining into the darkness, and it's simply "True Love Prevails" and here are a few ways it manifests:
- You are never alone. Even in the darkest pits, God will never abandon you.
- The most beautiful people are formed by trials – even your enemies are "glory enhancers"!
- You are surrounded by a holy wall of Fire. Help is on the way!
- Even if you suffer incredible loss, the end is never the end; it's simply a new beginning.
- Some of your enemies will become your friends; even as some of your friends become your enemies. Either way, God will dine with you, filling your cup to overflowing, anointing your head with oil, and placing your enemies under your feet, as a footstool. Rejection is defeated in the light of His love.
- Together we are crossing over from fear-based living to a love-based reality. Our stories are building a bridge.
- In becoming naked and unashamed you are trading the fear-based lifestyle for a return to Eden.
- On the other side of the Cross is freedom, and in this freedom you will be fruitful and multiply.
- The world has enough victims… now it's time to rise up and become avengers. We are turning chaos into opportunity.
- God's wants you to more than survive; He wants you to thrive! You're born to be wild and free!
You and I can't tell our tales alone. Our stories bring life, give life, and draw life in the company of one another. Every voice is needed, and so I invite you along on this journey of sharing life stories, to add your story to mine… to add mine to yours. It's our gift to one another, and in the sharing we become like stars shining in the darkness.
“You may tell a tale that takes up residence in someone's soul, becomes their blood and self and purpose. That tale will move them and drive them and who knows that they might do because of it, because of your words. That is your role, your gift.” – Erin Morgenstern
All my love,
Sue
Susan Schiller knows how it feels to lose everything: marriage and family, church and reputation, finances and businesses, and more. Susan's upcoming, interactive memoir, "On the Way Home," tells the story of how she came to be known as "the most abused woman" her counselors had yet met and how she learned to navigate her way out of hell to a rich and satisfying life. In her lifetime, Susan has served in duties ranging from home school mom – to pastor – to full-time deliverance minister – and to Midwest regional prayer coordinator for a large international ministry. These days you can usually find Susan soaking in her favorite hot springs pool, reading a book (or several), blogging, baking bread, or hanging out with her family and friends. You can get a free copy of Susan's upcoming book, "On the Way Home" by registering here.
Copyright 2012, Susan McKenzie, http://TeamFamilyOnline.com. Permission is granted to copy, forward, or distribute this article for non-commercial use only, as long as this copyright byline and bio, in totality, is maintained in all duplications, copies, and link references. For reprint permission for any commercial use, in any form of media, please contact Susan Schiller.
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