Telling Your Story

Recognizing that we are part of a dynamic and supportive body of Christ, placed into this world for His glory, we can allow God to speak through us, which may involve becoming vulnerable to share about what God has done or is doing in our lives. In James 5, we find a passage that is centered on the importance of opening ourselves up to God and others ministering to us:
14 Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord.
15 And the prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven.
16 Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.

We are called to be open to share with each other. The Bible instructs us to pray for each other. In that spirit of vulnerability, we can also be willing to proclaim what God has done in our lives - the healing He has brought, the transformation that He has wrought, the goodness He has shown. When we are willing to testify to His greatness, great things can occur for His glory. If God has directed us to share, then we can do so with confidence.

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The apostle Paul was not shy about sharing what God had done in his life - the man who once persecuted Christians was now one of them, and He was bold to share His story; and we have all benefited from his obedience. In 2nd Corinthians 6, he sums up his approach:
4 But in all things we commend ourselves as ministers of God...

He lists some of those "all things," then he writes later in the chapter:
11 O Corinthians! We have spoken openly to you, our heart is wide open.
12 You are not restricted by us, but you are restricted by your own affections.
13 Now in return for the same (I speak as to children), you also be open.

After placing in the top 10 at the box office last weekend and the top 5 in per-screen average among the top 10, the Kendrick Brothers' latest film, Lifemark has extended its run in theaters, even adding additional screens and I am seeing some theaters have expanded their number of times per day beyond the standard Fathom Events 7:00 p.m. start time.

Executive Producer of the film Kirk Cameron, who also appears in Lifemark, is quoted in a press release as saying: "We are thankful this story of celebrating adoption was welcomed with open arms nationwide...Despite the odds against a faith release such as this one, we appreciate this audience, who once again demonstrated their desire to see wholesome family entertainment."

As the Kendricks indicated in their interview with me, studios did not want to touch this film, which is a pro-life, pro-adoption movie.  It's based on a true story, and recently, Movieguide spotlighted the real-life people involved.

Melissa Coles is the real-life mother in the film, a teenage mom who gave her son up for adoption.  The story notes:

“I had a whole list of reasons not to do it,” Coles said when she was approached about the movie. “I didn’t want people to see me at my weakest. I didn’t want to be used.”

But her husband, Shawn, asked her a question that helped change her mind.

“‘What if it helps just one person?’ So, I agreed to do it,” Coles said.

Not only did she give the go-ahead for the movie, but also gave her input on the script and casting.

Lifemark was based on a documentary called, I Lived on Parker Avenue.  The Movieguide article relates:

The documentary details how, upon discovering she was pregnant at 18, Cole and her boyfriend at that time decided that they would abort their baby. While on the operating table before the doctor could abort her son Cole heard a voice saying, “Get up. Get Up. It’s not too late,” and ran out the building, eventually deciding to place her son David, now 29, up for adoption instead.

The Indiana native revealed that I LIVED ON PARKER AVENUE “saved at least 11 babies from abortion.” She continued to say, “If the documentary did that, how much more will the film do?”

She says, “I hope the film will help more people see the beauty of adoption and understand how important adoption is..."  She has become a vocal advocate for adoption.

The Standing for Freedom Center ran an article this week about the film's success.  It stated:

Eighteen years later, Melissa decided to update her contact information with the adoption agency just in case her child decided he wanted to contact her. That led the two to connect and, about a year later, the emotional meeting of David and his birth parents was told for the first time in the short-film documentary “I Lived on Parker Avenue.” The film is a moving picture of the love that grew exponentially and impacted so many people because Melissa chose to allow David to live.

David is an attorney who is known as a pro-life speaker. 

The Movieguide story quoted from a Catholic News Service article.  It said that:

Coles eventually had another child, Courtney. She loves her daughter with all her heart and loves being a mom.

Despite that joy, Coles said she was “angry with God, bitter. My whole life has been a struggle. Why did I have to give up my son? Why didn’t (God) give me what I needed to keep him?”

Then she met Shawn Coles, her husband now of 16 years.

“On date number one he called me out on where I stood with the Lord,” said Coles, a nondenominational Christian. “I realized I wasn’t living for God. I just needed something to wake me up — hence my husband. I didn’t give my life to God until I met Shawn.”

He helped her learn to trust God. Shawn also was the one who encouraged his wife to say “yes” to the “Lifemark” film.

“I had a whole list of reasons not to do it,” she said. “I didn’t want people to see me at my weakest. I didn’t want to be used.

“Then my husband said, ‘What if it helps just one person?’ So, I agreed to do it.”

Vulnerability can produce all sorts of good fruit. For one thing, there is a therapeutic effect in sharing what you're going through or have been through with another person. That person, if he or she is a believer, can provide you with Scripture-based encouragement and Christ-centered love.  So, it helps the person who is sharing.

And, it can help the receivers of the story.  Even the documentary of the Coles' story and their interaction with Melissa's adoptive son, David, yielded almost a dozen people who chose life. People who have walked that journey of choosing life can be compelling witnesses of God's love. 

We have to pray about our decisions about what to share with others.  Melissa certainly wrestled with telling her story, but in tandem with her husband, made the decision to go public.  We can rely on the Spirit to give us the words to say and the timing in which to do it.  But, it can be so worthwhile when we entrust our story to God and allow Him to use it in His way in His time.