I love telling stories about my dad. Like the time my family went tubing in the rapids, and he called my sister “the lamest” when she flipped him over, and he lost his glasses. Let’s say he was not a “happy camper” that day. Or the time when he looked me in the eye with fear after falling, but went to the hospital without putting up a fight. His willingness to surrender and accept help taught me more that day than he will ever know.
I could go on and on about how he was the one I could talk into buying me anything or how he showed me what it meant to love and be loved. And I know I’m blessed with these memories, and not every woman reading today has stories of her father that are good, but good or bad, the stories we tell about our fathers say a lot about the relationship we have with them. I believe that when I tell stories about my dad, people who have never met him know him and, by knowing him, know me better.
I believe the same to be true about the stories we tell about God, our Father. We need to testify that we are daughters of God by sharing the glorious, painful, at times corrective, defining remembrances we have of our Father to those who don’t know Him. In doing so, they will know Him, and in return, get to understand who we are and who we are becoming.
Saint John testified that Jesus was the Son of God (John 1:32-34). In a similar manner, we must get comfortable sharing stories of God, our Father, Christ, our brother, Mary, our mother, and all the Saints in Heaven (whom I like to call cousins). How we talk about these people and stories in our lives show the relationship we have with each of them. We can trust our advocate, the Holy Spirit, to give each of us the voice to communicate the narrative.
Curious about our relationship with the Saints and want to know more? A quick read on it.
Tricia Tembreull is a California girl with a boundless passion for life. After two decades of ministering to teens and youth ministers as a trainer, ministry mentor, and speaker in Catholic youth ministry, Tricia now serves as Campus Minister at USC Caruso Catholic Center. She loves adventure and seeks it everywhere she goes. As an avid foodie, she enjoys testing new recipes out on friends and family, gathering them around the table to encounter Christ in one another and be drawn to the satisfying unity we crave in the Eucharist. You can find out more about her here.
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