Have You Ever Wanted to Rewrite Your Life Story?
By Jody Stinson
If you could rewrite one part of your life, what would it be? Would you edit out the three years you spent dating someone who ultimately cheated on you? Or would you change that decision you made not to buy a particular stock that would have made you rich? Perhaps, it would be as minor as avoiding that one rough experience with hair dye in your teens.
I’ll admit that I have often fantasized about making a few rewrites to my life. What if I could go back in time and give the witty comeback I managed to come up with four hours after the conversation ended? What if I had stayed silent that one time? What if I had spoken up? Then there are the bigger rewrites I would make. What if I could edit out my chronic migraines or change a life-altering event?
The funny thing about being a writer, though, is I often write the words I need to hear.
My character Nora says the following in Second Best, “No matter how badly we may wish otherwise, we can’t rewrite our life. And maybe the thing that’s most important for us to learn is that we don’t need to. God already wrote the story, and in spite of what we sometimes think, it’s perfect… I have to trust that this is the right way for my story to unfold.”
It might have been me writing the words, but the truth is, I was also the one who needed to hear them.
The ongoing theme in Second Best is the desire to rewrite one’s life. For Nora, she wishes she could edit out some of her worst experiences, but the lesson she learns—and let’s face it, I’m right there with her—is that if God is the Author of our lives, can we trust He doesn’t need rewrites?
God—as He always does—anticipated the question and provided an answer. “‘For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,’ declares the LORD.” Isaiah 55:8 NIV
To paraphrase—God’s plots are not our plots. The mistakes in the story I think I see are just a master Author at work.
As we look at history, we often see “random” events that led to world-altering happenings. One need only study the battle of Midway to see God’s hand. A series of tiny, seemingly inconsequential events changed the course of a war.
In the Bible, we see the same in the story of Esther. A disobedient queen and a hasty king ultimately led to Esther being in the exact position she needed to be in to save her people. “And who knows but that you have come to your royal position for such a time as this?” Esther 4:14 NIV.
It’s so easy to see it when the story is written in the Bible or history books. When the story is the one we live everyday…well, it’s not so easy.
I recently completed my umpteenth rewrite of Second Best before putting it on my website as a giveaway. This time through, I found myself playing up the idea that God doesn’t need rewrites. In fact, “we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” Romans 8:28 NIV
Just like my readers have to trust me, I have to trust “Jesus the author and finisher of our faith.” Hebrews 12:2 KJV
Nora Klein always believed God was the Author of her life. Lately though, it feels like her story has morphed into a tragedy. Desperate for a fresh start, Nora jumps at a friend’s invitation to relocate to Booklyn, Oregon, the self-proclaimed literary capital of the world. She soon meets Gray Alexander, whose last romance left him with a broken heart and the determination to help wounded people. As Gray and Nora decide whether to risk their battered hearts on a new relationship, estranged relatives, a returning ex, and interfering neighbors all threaten their happy ending. If they trust God to write their love story, can they believe He won’t need rewrites? Get Second Best for free here.
Jody Stinson believes every story deserves a happy ending—even if she has to write one herself. After an international upbringing, she continues to travel whenever she can. Her goal is to take her readers somewhere new, make them smile, and give them hope through Christ. She currently writes freelance and wanders old courthouses working as a title abstractor. Visit her here.