“There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you.”

~Maya Angelou

At this time of the year, we celebrate a story.  A story of a life that came into our world and changed it.  That life brought so much into our world, our history, our humanity.  It is a story that is told and retold through the ages, and has meaning, purpose, love and the spirit to change us.

We have stories too.  Maybe we aren’t the Messiah.  However, we have a story too. Maya Angelou reminds me of what a great regret can be.  Bearing an untold story.

How many of us have a story within us?  You know, the story that is that fire in your belly that is just laying there, dormant, untapped, lifeless.  It isn’t just some inanimate object. IT IS US. It is our story, our life that is speaking for its life, our life.

Our story can be staying untold for many reasons.  It will never happen. I could never do/be it. It’s unrealistic.  I don’t have time. I have too many other things to take care of. I will never be that.

Those darn negative thoughts that hijack our brains and, ultimately, our actions.  Everytime we listen to the “Negative Nelly,” our story recedes a bit. However, that story never goes away. That part of us can become a “Nagging Nelly.”

Might that nagging be a sign from within (and from our story) that it’s not going away AND that it wants expression?

As a priest, I was living part of my story.  However, my story was not complete. It lacked a relationship, another person to love.  I needed relationship. I had to make a choice. I kept suppressing and ignoring my story, but it persisted.  It kept saying, “you have more to give, and you have more to receive.”

Bam.  Hit me in the face.  I was limiting myself by ignoring, looking away.  I was not letting the story of the One who came at Christmas to inspire me to live more of my story.

Our stories, like books, are not meant to sit on a bookshelf.  They are meant to be taken in hand and read. Aloud. To ourselves and to the world.

As we come to the end of 2019, what part of our story is still yet untold?  What part have you and I ignored or shot down out of fear or doubt?

Might this be a time to start reading the story that is untold, the story of the infant in us who is crying out and wanting to be loved and allowed to live?  This is a time of year about new life, not death. It is about living the story of the Messiah in our everyday life, and living the story of our authenticity and true giftedness!

What is the untold story in you that is asking for some Christmas spirit and life?  Maybe 2020 will be the year of clear vision to SEE AND LIVE YOUR STORY!

Oh, the places you’ll go when you do!