There are many fascinating narratives in the world about so many different topics.
But there is one narrative that is continually being narrated…
Welcome dear friend, I have a tray of delights ready for our tea time in the garden as we enjoy our beautiful autumn weather here in Australia.
Our tea is an Indian Spice blend, quite different to Chai, this one has little pieces of dried fruit & rose petals, our treat is a freshly baked strawberry & coconut loaf…
The Little Wattle birds are back busy making their nests & squawking their squawk.
The sun is shining its warmth upon us & our beautiful Jacaranda is standing majestical, as shared in the Tree of life…
Now we are seated, enjoying our cuppa, shall we reflect upon what narratives are & just how much influence they have in our lives.
What are Narratives?
Beginning with the following definition & meaning of the word;
- a spoken or written account of connected events ~ a story
- in the form of/or concerned with narration ~ story telling
As a child I was introduced to the wonderful world of reading by my paternal Uncle who was a Senior High School Educator for the Deaf community.
I loved reading stories & being transported to their fascinating worlds.
Then my maternal grandfather, when he came to visit, loved to tell my sister & I bedtime stories about a mystical world full of tiny creatures, that I’m sure he invented as he went along.
We loved his animation & emphasis on certain phrases in this time.
Throughout the years as a Mama & Grandmama I too have read many stories to my daughter’s & my grandchildren from story books, mysteries, fable & ancient scripts… as shared in Little Miss L.
Writing
And as a writer I continually formulate narratives from the everyday world around me.
Many are shared here with you in our times of reflection.
But today I thought we would reflect upon the narrative within.
The narrative of the mind & heart that we continually tell & retell ourselves, the one that is in continual motion.
How our internal narrative develops
This internal narrative captivates many thoughts & long held beliefs on life that we quite often are unaware of until they’re challenged.
I have recently been challenged on a few of my own.
How do we develop our inner narratives?
We develop our inner narrative through the lense of our family background, childhood experiences, cultural background, core beliefs & moral compass.
Then as we sojourn through life, various circumstances that we experience will either confirm or challenge our inner narrative.
Our inner narrative may not always be true though, we can have false narratives as our inner truths.
Let me personalize this for you…
I was recently challenged with the following questions in a fellowship study (paraphrased);
- How do you see God?
- What is your personal narrative about God’s love for you?
I set about reflecting upon these questions.
I have a very loving Dad in this life so to see God as my Heavenly Father in a loving, fair & just God is not a challenge for me.
However, I do realize that this is not the case for everyone, it may be quite challenging if you did not have a loving Dad growing up.
So, my personal narrative of God is that He is caring, loving, a protective provider who loves & only wants the best for me.
Challenging our inner narrative
Then came the following questions (paraphrased)…
- What was your childhood experience of love?
- Was there an expectation or perception in having to earn that family love through your accomplishments, merit or standard of behavior?
- Does your inner narrative of God have these same perceptions in having to earn His love through what you do for Him?
Hmmm! That stopped me in my tracks!
These were very thought provoking & challenging questions.That I need to reflect upon & journal for awhile.
Then this week another question really stood out (paraphrased)…
What is your inner narrative about God’s love for you in your present circumstances?
Hmmm! Very thought provoking indeed!
As I have chronic health conditions, one being chronic pain, stay tuned for my answers.
I invite you to join me in reflecting & journaling about your inner narrative using the above questions as a catalyst dear friend.
What are our inner narratives?
Are they inner truths or falsehoods?
Until next time,
Jennifer
You’re most welcome to join me in The Reading Nook
Or in Prayer
© 2019 Jennifer M. Ross, teawithjennifer.blog, photo © Jennifer, All Rights Reserved.
Tea With Jennifer 
So true that the story we tell ourselves is destiny shaping!
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Absolutely Michele!
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It’s so important that our narrative is informed with biblical truth. I used to feel like a complete failure and beat myself up whenever I messed up to any degree. Realizing that God extended grace helped me to extend grace to myself. It’s then easy for that to slide the other way toward not holding ourselves accountable and making excuses. But walking according to Scripture, we know we’re sinners and won’t be perfect til heaven, yet we rely on God’s strength to do His will, and when we fail, we rest in His arms of grace and forgiveness.
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That we do Barbara, lovely to have you join me here for our time together. I’m glad we can see our lives & selves through His eyes rather than our clouded lenses! 😀
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Listening and trying to figure out our inner narrative stories is so important. I know I have learned a lot about myself by listening. Sometimes I find they are voices of other people, say my mother. But interestingly enough, I think we remember and our brain plays the negative voices and not the positive ones. Therefore seeing the lies they contain is so helpful. So we can evaluate and break the lie.
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Yes, sadly the negative voices are the ones that most often play over & over until we allow God’s truth in to correct them 😉
Lovely having you drop by Theresa.
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I need to consider my inner narrative every day! A friend of mine recently told me that she’s writing her narrative down on index cards. If it isn’t right, true, noble, pure, lovely, or admirable – she’s writing the truth down on the other side of the card. Love that idea! Thank you for the thoughtful post…
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Hi Amy, lovely to have you drop by 😀 I like that idea too, it’s another version of daily journaling.
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Lovely flowers ❤
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Thank you 😀
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Jennifer, I loved reading about narratives. My father was a natural storyteller. I think I inherited his storytelling abilities, which is why I like to write stories in my blog. Most of my posts begin with stories.
Our inner narratives can and should change throughout our lives. Good for you for being flexible enough mentally, spiritually, and emotionally to think about the thought-provoking questions and examine your inner narratives. You have inspires me to do the same thing! I love learning from other bloggers!
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It is such a blessing to grow up with story tellers Laurie 😀
I’m glad you have found inspiration here, openness to growth & change in God is always a blessing 😀
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