Ahhh, stories. I do not know anyone who doesn’t love a good story. Growing up listening to my parents and aunts and uncles tell family stories was such a joy! As my sister and I grew older we came to expect that many of these stories would be told and retold at our extended family gatherings. And of course we continue that tradition with our own children today and our kids now expect them and look forward to this family time! These stories help us learn about and get to know our family members in different and sometimes unique ways.
Sometimes I wonder what stories Mary and Joseph and their extended family shared. What stories had Jesus bright eyed and listening intently or laughing so hard he fell over with tears in his eyes. Did Joseph recall mishaps of an uncle or cousin? Did Mary tell Jesus about how he used to scoot across the floor and eventually learn to walk? Can you see the joy in their eyes as they recount these dear moments? Their stories, like my family’s stories, help build our relationships and bring us closer together; they unite us as family.
What are your favorite family stories? What about your favorite Jesus story? Perhaps a story about you and Jesus – how you got to know Jesus, how Jesus grabbed your attention or maybe what the two of you shared a good laugh about. Really. I have stories about all of these. Some take just a few seconds to share while others take a few minutes; the story that I am in now is a few years in the making! If you would like to hear a story, let me know, I am happy to share! I hope you have a story to share with me, and others, too. After all, as Christians we are called to share these stories with anyone who will listen.
-Adele DiNatale-Svetnicka
Thank you Adele: As a young boy, maybe 9 or 10, I and a brother walked through our cow pasture to pick strawberries from the road ditch, south of our farm was located in northern Minnesota. We were always cautious as we lived near dense forests that extended for miles. When my brother and I approached the end of the pasture, we had to cross the fence. As we were parting the strands of the barbed wire fence to crawl through, I looked down the ditch line to our intended strawberry picking area and I was startled to see three black bears in the ditch. I can still feel the bite of the wire barbs that dug through my flannel shirt as I jumped back from within the fence. As we took a second look, one of the bears stood up, and all three transformed into Franciscan nuns that had beat us to the strawberry patch! They had appeared as black bears due to being dressed in their black habits and in a bend over posture. We returned home and left the strawberries to “the bears of Sacred Heart Church”.
Bears were common in our area and as young boys we were also scared in the deep woods.
Yes, stories connect us, instruct, deepen relationships, invite us, challenge us to grow in our relationships. What a gift.
Thanks for sharing. We all treasure the many stories found in the Bible and our relationship to God and one another.
We are truly blessed. I love the story Tom Lager shared. Thank you.