The Rest of the Story

 

When I was a kid, we often listened to Paul Harvey on the radio. One of my parents' favorite spots was his "The Rest of the Story." Mr. Harvey would lead in with an interesting, familiar story. Then he'd fill in all the gaps that were not as well known. Most of the population knew the "end" of the story, but there were so many interesting details worked in to help the person or persons reach their end goals. It was always so inspiring to hear of how people overcame adversity to achieve major life goals. He'd always end with, "And now, you know the rest of the story." 

I wonder what the rest of our stories will look like. Maybe none of us will do anything the whole world will know about - but what we do every single day is still extraordinary. In essence, we are laying down our lives for our loved ones. But sacrificial love isn't talked about too much these days. Maybe it's because we live in such a selfish society that they can't see selflessness or understand it. It always encourages me to think about how Christ did that for us. He embraced selflessness and came for us. We are His prize.

While it makes sense to me that we would lay aside our dreams and desires to care for our loved ones, I can't quite grasp how Jesus chose to die for us; for me. But - we are the rest of the story. We may never know the rest of our stories; we've got a lot of steps left in our journeys. But Jesus knew the rest of His story before He came as the baby messiah so many years ago. He knew we were His prize - and He still thought we were worth it.

We love those we are caring for, right? And we care for them so much that many times we die inside just so they can live. That's our heart. That's Jesus' heart too. So, here's the thing - you look a lot like Him. We all have many shortcomings and flaws and make plenty of mistakes. But we just keep going for our loved one's sake. He walked right down a painful path for us - and that's what we do for those we care for day after day. 

My point? Jesus knew the rest of the story - and came anyway. We were worth it to Him. We are loved.

Today, I'll encourage myself by reminding myself that He came for me. I will meditate on how much love and dedication it took for Him to come and live and die on my behalf, knowing what a mess I would be. I just need to know that I was worth it. I'll be thankful today that He knew everything about me and came anyway. I can rest in that truth and reassure my heart that He really does love me right here, right now. He gets us as caregivers and gives grace for the journey. I'll embrace His love today and lean a little closer to Him as I trust Him to write the rest of my story. Will you join me?

                                                                                                                                           

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