A few years ago, I did some courses with Youth With a Mission.  One of the classes had about twenty students in it and the leader decided that sharing our testimonies would be a good way to get to know each other.  By testimonies, he didn’t just mean the stories of how we became Christians, but our life stories.  One person was allocated to each day and I was number three.

On the first day, a girl shared how she had been heavily involved in Satanism and the occult.  It was a dramatic testimony of how God had literally snatched her from the fire and drawn her to Himself.  The next day, another girl shared how she had gone off the rails and led a promiscuous lifestyle.  When she reached her lowest point, she even took a job as a stripper.  To look at this girl, you would never expect that she’d had that sort of background.  She was pretty, had a sweet personality and was a devoted Christian.  Her story told of God’s grace in bringing her out of that lifestyle and turning her life around for Him.

I was starting to worry.  I had to go next, but my story was really boring.  My parents sent me off to Sunday School at the age of three and I’ve believed in God and Jesus ever since.  Certainly there have been ups and downs and different milestones in my Christian walk, but I really have been a Christian since I was young.  If only I’d been a stripper who’d been involved in the occult!  Well, I didn’t really want that, but I did wish I had something more interesting to share.

The next day, I told my ‘boring’ life story, and I’ll never forget what happened afterwards.  The girl who’d been involved in the occult said she loved my testimony because it showed how God could be faithful to someone throughout a lifetime.  She hadn’t experienced that and wished she had my background.  I felt so humbled by her comment and realised that I’d had the wrong perspective.  Here I was wishing I had something more interesting to say, when I should have been thanking God that He’d brought me to faith when I was little and had protected me from the difficult experiences many others have had to face. 

We can’t all be like Billy Graham or Joyce Meyer, but that’s okay.  God created each of us just the way He wanted, with our own unique gifts, talents, personalities, and experiences.  Each of our stories is important to God and can touch the lives of others for His glory.  So step out and share your story with someone today.  You might be surprised at the results.

(N.B. This story was originally published in Footprints Magazine (Australia), Autumn 2010, Issue 49, pp. 14-15, edited by Janet Camilleri.  This article may be reprinted for free.) 

Nola Passmore writes fiction, poetry, devotions and creative nonfiction. She and her husband Tim operate a freelance writing and editing business from their home in Queensland, Australia. You can access her weekly writing tips blog at their website: www.thewriteflourish.com