There are many fascinating narratives 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 sunny weather here in Australia.
The Little Wattle birds are back busy making their nests & squawking their squawk.
Now we’re seated, enjoying our cuppa, shall we reflect upon what narratives actually are & how much influence they have upon our lives?
Narratives
Narratives are simply story telling.
When I was a child I was introduced to the wonderful world of books by my Uncle who was a Senior High School Educator for the Deaf community. I loved reading books & being transported to the fascinating worlds within their pages.
Throughout the years as a Mama & Grandmama I have read many stories to my daughters & grandchildren… as shared in Little Miss L.
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 together.
But today I thought we would reflect upon the narrative within. That narrative that we continually tell & retell ourselves, the one that is in continual motion.
Internal narrative development
This internal narrative often captivates many of our thoughts & long held beliefs on life that we quite often are unaware of until they’re challenged.
We develop our inner narrative through the lens of our family & cultural background, childhood experiences, core beliefs & moral compass.
Then as we go through life, various circumstances we experience will either confirm or challenge that inner narrative.
However, our inner narrative may not always be true, as we can have a false narrative as our inner truth.
Let me personalize this for you…
I was recently challenged with the following questions in a Bible study;
- How do you see God?
- What is your personal narrative about God’s love for you?
I set about reflecting upon these questions. As I have a very loving Dad in this life to see God as my Heavenly Father in a loving, fair & just way is easy for me.
Please Note: I do realize this is not always the case for everyone & it may be quite challenging if you did not have a loving Dad growing up to see God in this light.
So, my personal narrative of God is that He is caring, loving & protective who only wants the best for me.
Challenging our inner narrative
Then came the following questions…
- Was there an expectation or perception when growing up, in having to earn 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 indeed.
On reflection;
There was a standard of excellence in our family. So I had to ask myself the following question; am I doing to gain God’s love instead of being in His love?
Then this week another question really stood out;
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, I needed to ponder this for a while. However, my thoughts kept coming back to my expereince with God in His promises.
You see no matter the circumstances we face or pass through God has promised never to leave nor forsake us & I can wholeheartedly attest that He has never left nor forsaken me through this season or any other season in my life! And I’ve been through some very tough seasons, as shared in I go to prepare a place for you.
He has said, “I WILL NEVER [under any circumstances]
DESERT YOU [nor give you up nor leave you without support, nor will I in any degree leave you helpless],
NOR WILL I FORSAKE or LET YOU DOWN
or RELAX MY HOLD ON YOU [assuredly not]!”
Hebrews 13: 5 AMP
Thus I invite you to join me in reflecting on your inner narrative using the following questions as a catalyst dear friend;
What is your inner narrative? Does it contain truth or are there some 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.
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My inner narrative used to be nasty, she was critical and down putting. But as I age and mature in Christ, I’m always reminded of who HE says I am, and now my inner narrative, she’s pretty nice to me. Jennifer, this is such an insightful and encouraging lesson here.
Visiting today from Anita’s
Thank you Paula. I’m glad your inner narrative has become kinder & most importantly who God sees you as, His beautiful daughter & princess 😊
My inner narrative in general tends to be very harsh and critical and it’s such slow going to change that! I’m trying to get there though.
I’m glad you’re in the process of changing your inner narrative Joanne. 😊
On a side note your comment section on your blog doesn’t process my comments, it constantly comes up with ‘error’ 🤔
Very thought provoking questions.
That they are Lauren. Lovely having you drop by my friend 😊
So true that the story we tell ourselves is destiny shaping!
Absolutely Michele!
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.
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! 😀
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.
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.
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…
Hi Amy, lovely to have you drop by 😀 I like that idea too, it’s another version of daily journaling.
Lovely flowers ❤
Thank you 😀
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!
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 😀
Jennifer, your post is great. It leaves me with much to think about. Thank you for sharing your post at The Crazy Little Lovebirds link party #41.
Thank you & you’re most welcome Stephanie 😊