” This is the hour of the Shire-folk, when they arise from their quiet fields to shake the towers and counsels of the Great. Who of all the Wise could have foreseen it? Or, if they are wise, why should they expect to know it, until the hour has struck?” (Elrond, from The Fellowship of the Ring by J.R.R. Tolkien)
It could take a half-day retreat or an hour every day for a week, but if you work through this exercise, you’ll end up with an initial action plan for taking your first steps into your new story.
Start by reviewing “Your Story From Here,” the third part of our narrative-based process that helped you identify what Frederick Buechner calls “the place where your deep gladness and the world’s deep hunger meet.” (What Buechner refers to as a “place,” we think of as a “reality” that expresses our true calling of service, reorders our values and leads us in new and unexpected directions.)
- Once again, enlist the help of those you trusted through the whole “Listen to Your Story” process. You’re sure to need their support as you live into your new story. (And vice versa.)
- Re-read your answers under “Character,” “Plot,” “Desire,” “Idea,” and “Conflict/Challenge,” your present-tense, third-person summary, and your answer to the “Miller Question.”
- Journal your answers to the following questions: Is this new story appealing to you? How does it make you feel? Excited? Nervous? Does this story do justice to both “your deep gladness” and “the world’s deep hunger”? How so? What’s still missing?
Your Plan of Action
Write your responses to the following exercises in your journal or otherwise record them for future reference.
Make it personal — Fill in the blank:
“I (think I) am __________________. My deep gladness is __________________. The deep need I am passionate about is ___________________. I believe my calling of service is to___________________. In light of all that, I want to_____________________.”
Make it practical — Next you have to figure out how different what you feel “called” to do is from what you’re currently doing.
Is your “call” compatible with your life as it is? Is it mutually exclusive? A little of both? What needs to change? What do you need to keep doing? What can you keep doing if you tweak it a little?
You have at least three options: drastic change, moderate change and slow, piecemeal change. Choose one. (Obviously, the choice is up to you, how you like to do things and other factors we can’t anticipate.)
Set a date — What adventure can you undertake right now (or in the next week) to explore your new story?
Briefly describe: (a) your desire, (b) how you’ll meet people in need, (c) how you’ll meet experts working to serve those in need, and, (d) what you’re going to do on a practical, hands-on level to begin to “share” in this story of need.
For example, you could say, “(a) I have a heart for helping homeless people, so this weekend I will: (b) go meet some homeless people, (c) set a meeting with the director of the local homeless shelter, and (d) put together some useful “care kits” for people I see at stoplights.
Set a goal — Once you get some experience with a particular Problem, group of People, or Place, you can begin to think long-term.
Same as before, briefly describe: (a) your long-term dream or desire, (b) how you’ll really get to know people in need and learn what would really help them, (c) how you’ll partner with experts and identify the cracks in the current system, and, (d) what you will do now to lay the groundwork for realizing your dream.
For example, “(a) I want to end homelessness in my area, so I will: (b) get to know as many homeless people as possible and find out what put them on the street and what keeps them on the street, (c) form a coalition of families, existing non-profits and local government, because they currently don’t work well together, and (d) create ways to make sure no one slips through the cracks — a homeless hotline, a new homeless shelter, a list of people who will temporarily take people in off the street, a job center, a substance abuse center, etc.
In thinking and working long-term, ask yourself: What minimum resources (time, finances, relationships, connections, etc.) do I need to get started? If you don’t have those minimum resources, that isn’t a reason to not begin, it’s a reason to begin gathering those resources!
Refine your efforts — After each attempt to live into your new story, take some time to evaluate how things went.
What went well? What did you like? What felt right about it?
What didn’t go well? What didn’t you like? What didn’t feel right about it?
What did you learn about yourself? What did you learn about God?
What did you learn about a specific Problem, group of People or Place? (Feel free to share what you learned in our wiki discussion.)
Use your answers to refine your next “adventure,” whether you go back to the same place or group of people, or whether you try something different. Don’t give up — you still have a calling of service to explore!
Don’t forget to get feedback from people you trust. Do they think the new story you’ve begun to live fits who you truly are? Does it do justice to your past, passions, gifts and dreams? Does this new story do justice to “the world’s deep hunger”? The more open and honest you all are, the more you’ll glean from the discussion. Remember, input from others is just one tool that can help you put together your vocational puzzle.
Keep in mind, the journey of living a new story is always:
- Provisional — unfolding over time, must be approached with humility;
- Incarnational — integrated, other-centered, not by proxy, full of trial and error and unknowns;
- Emotional — full of pain, suffering and joy;
- Seasonal — expressed differently during different seasons of life;
- Perpetual — unlike volunteering, it’s 24/7/365; and,
- Intergenerational — applies to families, faith communities, groups of friends and other communities, and can therefore be handed down and passed on to others.
In the meantime, check out the “Three Practices,” a sort of survival kit designed to help Story-Sharers live into their new story.
