Dear Beloved,

What is your favorite story about the summer? Have you heard a helpful or uplifting story recently?

Jesus was a powerful storyteller. Stories shape us. Stories guide and inspire us. Stories correct and nourish us. This summer I’ve been thinking and giving thanks for the stories of so many – the stories of creation, the stories told by elders, the stories told by children, the stories drawn or sung or sculpted, the stories told by plants and animals, the stories danced or acted out or embodied in another way, the stories which live in our hearts and muscle memories.

Who is your favorite storyteller? How would you describe someone who listens most carefully to your stories and how does that make you feel?

In this week ahead, may we take time to listen to and embody a story of Jesus’ love and welcome. In this week ahead, may we listen to someone’s story with sincerity and may we thank someone who has told us a framing or foundational story that has helped us grow or given us hope.

Thank you to those of you who take time to share stories with me. I appreciate you!

May you know that you are loved and treasured by Jesus who knows our whole stories and cares for us more than we can ever fully understand or imagine.

With gratitude,

Sarah

31 He put before them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed that someone took and sowed in his field; 32 it is the smallest of all the seeds, but when it has grown it is the greatest of shrubs and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and make nests in its branches.”

Matthew 13:31-32