We do not get to choose our story.

If we were honest, wouldn’t we all choose the one where life is easy and each day is sunshine, sweet tea and a good old fashioned porch swing? Wouldn’t we wish happy endings for ourselves and for everyone we love? That, however, is simply not our choice to make.

We can, however, choose Him. We can choose to say, “yes,” to whatever path He places us on.

Let’s face it. Life is hard. For me. For you. For the woman with the tired eyes in the cereal aisle. That waiter that seems so unfriendly? Maybe he has more bills than income and is struggling just to get through the day? Illness, job loss, family hurts and soul-deep wounds – they visit us all and many of them leave the forever kind of scars.

But we can choose Him. And we can choose joy. We can look our fellow sojourner in the eye and say, “I will not pass judgement in your time of pain.”

We can trust Him to take our story and make it meaningful. If we let it, pain can birth a praise too beautiful for words. And is it not, in brokenness, that we most resemble Him?

Our story, in Him, is one of letting go. We let go of the notion that we are the hero in our story. We realize that the story is not even, in fact, about us at all.

So, we endure. We push on through trials, devastations and heartaches. We may not have chosen our circumstances, but we are smitten with the Savior who urges us onward.

We offer up our lives to the Author of our faith story knowing that, in time, all will be redeemed and restored. And, if we could see what He sees, we would say, “Yes, Lord. This is the story I would have chosen for myself.”