Stories

Every story is different. Every story is special. Every story matters. And no, I don’t mean the stories that you find in books, although those are special too. I mean the stories that are our lives. Your life, my life, our loved ones’ lives, the life of that random guy you saw once at Walmart. So really I should say every life is different. Every life is special. Every life matters. You matter. To me and God.

Every life is different. My life is that of a sister of Christ, a daughter of God, a Pastor’s Kid, and an author. It’s a very different life than that of, say, the random guy you saw once at Walmart or Taylor Swift’s. You live a life that is wholly yours. Not your best friend’s, not your parent’s or guardians, not your dog’s. Living someone else’s life can hurt. One, it can hurt you because it forces you to be someone you're not. Two, it can hurt the person whose story you’re trying to live because that’s their story and their life and you’re stealing it. If you don’t like who you are, think about why, then think about whether you should start working to change that. If you like to poke fun at people who are hurting, change that. If you like to create art that doesn’t hurt other people but someone told you you’re not good at it, ignore them. It doesn’t have to be pretty in their eyes as long as it doesn’t hurt anyone.

Every life is special. Your life is special. You can touch lives and change other peoples’ stories through your words or actions. Saying thank you to your waiter or being kind to your sibling or obeying your guardian(s) or boss can change their whole day, maybe even their life. My story is special too. I can touch lives and change other people’s stories with my words. I’m touching your life as you read these words instead of watching TV or exercising or whatever you do for fun. Speaking of which, thank you for taking the time to read this. It means a lot to me.

Every life matters. If you believe right now that you don’t matter, you’re wrong. You do matter. You are important and wonderful and so, so special. Don’t let someone’s mean words or cruel actions tell you otherwise. You matter. In fact, right now, pause your reading and on whatever scrap of paper is handy write “I am special. I am important. I matter.” Write it three times. And then say it to yourself. “I am special. I am important. I matter.” Three times. And the next person you see, no matter who it is, tell them, “You are special. You are important. You matter.” Then find someone you love and tell them the same thing. Then find someone you don’t like and tell them the same thing. Because whether you like them or not, they do matter. If not to you, to God. They are made in His image, after all. And everyone needs to be reminded of this.

One last thing. You don’t have to make a grand gesture or save a life to let someone know that they matter. Sure, it’s incredible if you do and if you get the chance, take it. But those kind of things only come around once in a while. Sometimes, it’s more meaningful if you do the dishes. Give someone a shoulder to cry on. Compliment someone. Smile. Clean the toilet. Take care of that thing someone doesn’t have time to do. Often, the little moments are the biggest.

You are special. You are important. You matter.

Please don’t forget it.

Sincerely,
Hosanna