There was a time in human history when all we knew was what we learned, by listening to stories. This past Memorial Sunday, our pastor emphasized the importance of telling stories. Not only the Bible’s story about the Kingdom of God, found in Matthew 28, but our own personal story. It appears that God meant for people to spread His truth by word and deed. Some time ago, I did my story from birth to the present day. That is ninety years of events that are wrapped around what God has done in my life. I think the old teaching system might have been a good pattern. At that time, all teachers were women and “maidens.” One of my memories of story-telling is how the older generations taught and preached to us. It is amazing how affective stories were for my learning. I loved the stories of Sunday School, grade-school, my relatives and other friends. There were many who were good tellers. It wasn’t David that slew Goliath, it was Jerry waterman. I was the King of my own story. As kids, we also had sling shots to keep the birds out of Grandpa’s cherry trees when they were getting ripe. No, we didn’t zero in on the birds, we just rattled some shots off of branches. Our grandma would not have been happy if we hit one, even by accident. In those days, I believe more emphasis was given to listening and connecting the facts. Memorization also held a more important place in hearing. I believe God wanted his story told by voice and actions. So where does that leave us in the hearing and re-telling of the life-changing stories about his love for us? Was hearing just more acute then? Lifting up the facts does give truth to a story. There is an excitement in hearing and retelling. It offers us the opportunity to include ourselves into the storyline of scripture. How about your stories? Would others benefit from them? Each story is important for you are a gift from God. All of us are uniquely created. Let the world know about God’s goodness!