Use Your Story

“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God.” - 2 Corinthians 1:3-4

But you, O Lord, are a compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness. - Psalm 86:15

Last summer, I went through a pretty tough breakup. And when I say tough, I mean TOUGH. I had been fully convinced that I was going to marry the guy. Needless to say I was crushed when he decided to call things off.

So the night that the breakup happened, I drove to my parents’ house (because I don’t think you ever get too old to need your parents when you’re sad or upset). And while I sat there crying in their living room, they began to talk to me about how they had both been in relationships with people they thought they were going to marry, and then things didn’t work out.

They knew exactly what I was going through. They understood the pain I was feeling. And they were able to empathize with me during one of the most heartbreaking moments of my life.

I’m sure at the time my parents were going through their own breakups, they probably didn’t understand why they had to go through such a painful circumstance. They had no clue why things didn’t work out with these people they were planning on marrying. But that night, sitting in the living room telling me their stories, they got to see just one way that God used their past circumstances to impact someone else who had experienced the same kind of pain.

Has that ever happened to you? Have you gone through something painful, heartbreaking, or upsetting, but then you’ve seen God use your story down the road to encourage someone else? What a compassionate and gracious God we serve that He would give us these little nods of hope and redemption as He grants us opportunities to empathize with people who are walking the same rough paths we’ve walked.

With that in mind, my encouragement to you is this: choose to believe that there will be good that comes out of the tough seasons of your life. Because of what you’ve gone through, you’re going to be able to offer empathy and encouragement to others who are undergoing the same trials. And who knows, you might be the one God uses to draw those people into a relationship with Himself. You never know how God will want to use your story to impact the stories around you.

So pray and ask your Heavenly Father to cross your paths with people who you can empathize with. Show them the love and grace of God as you shower them with compassion. And let your life be yet another example of how God can bring so much good from whatever hurt and pain we’ve experienced along the way.