In May of 1977, my favorite series of movies began.  I was 17 years old and finishing my senior year of high school.  I don’t remember who I went to the movie with the first time, but I proceeded to see the movie in the theater seven times with seven different people.  When asked what I wanted to do on a date I would say “I want to see Star Wars!”.  Pretty sure I never had to pay for it.  There was something about it that struck a chord with me, something about the characters and the story that I couldn’t get enough of.  Since that time, I’ve seen every one in the series and anytime I catch them on TV they pull me in again, taking me back to my teenage years.

Yesterday I saw the latest installment of the series and it was like going home.  Characters that felt like old friends and others who were becoming new friends.  There were moments when I became completely lost in the story.  Not every movie does this for me, but for some reason, this one does. When I need to step away from the real world, this is a great escape.  I want to see how the story ends.

As a little kid, apparently I got lost in stories on a regular basis.  When my brother was born, I became Maid Marion of Robin Hood fame and wouldn’t answer to my own name. Seems I may have been a little jealous of the new baby in the family.  A few years later, I was Mary Poppins trying to jump off of things with my umbrella, just certain I could fly.   Then books took over and I was living through the words on the page.  Little Women, Heidi, Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm – all stories where the female characters worked through difficult situations to reach satisfying and/or successful endings.  I needed these stories because I too was living through difficult circumstances and these stories were encouraging to me.  I read them over and over, never getting tired of the characters or the stories.  My own story was not what I would want it to be but I was able to live vicariously through these books.

So here it is, 40 years after the initial Star Wars movie and I still want to live vicariously through the lives and adventures of these characters.  The situations aren’t easy, and the fight against evil seems never ending.  Again, what is it about this story that I will actually get up early on a weekend to see it when I could be sleeping in?  Could it be that I don’t get lost in my own story?  What is my story?  What is YOUR story?  Am I living my story my way or am I living the story others think it should?  Am I afraid to live my own story?

In my own story I come up against things I fear and while sometimes I will fight against that fear, many times I don’t, and I think that keeps me from getting lost in my own story.  Anytime I’m living the way someone else thinks I should or when I don’t face up to my fears or the obstacles that come in my way, it takes me out of my own story.  I’m then living in a story that someone else is writing.  I’ve given control of my story to that fear or that other person’s opinion.  I believe this includes family.  I don’t think having a family should keep anyone from writing their own story.  In fact, not living your own story teaches your family that they have to lose a part of themselves in order to have a family.  But I think that goes against who God made us to be.  While it may sound selfish to pursue the person you were meant to be, God made us to be unique individuals and I think we can BE those unique individuals, even with family. I shouldn’t have to sacrifice who I was meant to be for anyone, and I shouldn’t expect my spouse or family to do it either.

Does that mean that I don’t have to be responsible for my actions?  No.  I certainly can’t just up and quit my job and mess with the household finances.  But I COULD take the steps I need to take, little by little to make the changes I need to make to become who I was meant to be.  The characters in all of the stories I love all face challenges, but with their hard work and support from the people who love them, they ultimately succeed.  This could certainly be my real life story if I’m willing to do what it takes to become the heroine.  We see this all the time.  That friend who decides to take a class or two every semester in the evening while working full time and raising a couple of kids.  We celebrate with them when they graduate with the degree they wanted.  The person who goes against all odds to work through hardships to do something extraordinary.  Aren’t they just writing and living their own story?

I have a couple of friends who are frustrated right now because they are not living their own story.  They’re living in a story they think they’re supposed to be in, but it doesn’t feel right. Right there is a major hint that steps need to be taken to start writing their own story.  A story isn’t written overnight and there are edits and rewrites along the way, but slowly and surely, the story gets written if we keep pushing through the writers block.  And once the story is finished, don’t you want to be satisfied with the ending? Just like Star Wars for me, the ending is one that leaves me completely satisfied and excited for more.   Leaving us with characters on the path to their destiny.  Is your destiny to write your own life story or to let others write it for you?  Isn’t it time to get lost in our own life stories?