Ever notice that many of our favorite books-turned-movies all follow the same formula? Katniss, Harry Potter, Frodo—the story is always the same. Sure their lives and situations look different, but their journeys, not so much.  At their core, each of these stories is about a normal, seemingly everyday person faced with an impossible quest. But why are we so enamored by them when we aren’t faced with the arena, becoming a wizard, or the daunting task of destroying an evil ring before it destroys us? 

What about the hero’s journey speaks to you and me?

All this month, we have been talking about our individual callings—what we bring to this world that no one else does. Only, our broader life callings aren’t the only journeys we find ourselves on, in our lives. Very often, we end up on paths that feel like detours taking us away from the very direction we want to go. We thought we were headed into a place of community,  abundance and even success, but instead we’ve found ourselves in the desert. We feel isolated, alone, and we’re reeling from a one worded diagnosis:

Depression

Singleness

Betrayal

Infertility

Anxiety

Divorce

Illness 

Loss

Failure

Just one word can hold so much. One moment our future looked bright, and the next we were making doctors appointments. Our friends start wearing diamond rings, and we can’t even remember the last time we went on a date. Tasks we used to do everyday, now fill us with anxiety. We struggle to get out of bed for weeks before we realize, maybe we’re not just tired. 

All of us at some point or points will be called to reckon with a part of our lives we didn’t expect. A part of our story we didn’t choose. Only because we don’t have a Gandalf explaining what the crap is going on, we feel like losers not heroes. Because our burdens are less sexy than fighting dragons or taking down the establishment, we don’t realize

We’re living our Hero’s Journey. 

The bad guys and goblins of our stories are the symptoms we face from living in a broken world. And just like our fictional characters, we have a choice. We get to choose how this journey goes. Will it ruin us? Or will we fight, and allow these battles of ours to strengthen and shape us into the people we’re meant to be?

Many of us live under the weight of our struggles, believing they have defeated us. But until we are dead, our story is not finished. 

You are not finished.

Unless a doctor has diagnosed your situation as terminal, it’s not over. And even if she has, I believe in a God who does the impossible. We are not finished until He calls us home. Yet so many of us are living as if it’s all over. 

We allow our struggles to keep us from our dreams. We allow our diagnosis to take us out of the game. Without realizing that there is more than one way to do the things we long to do. Sure, it might not look the way we planned, but what if its better? What if the very thing we’re calling a mark of death, is the very thing that could lead us to more of who we’re supposed to be?

What if the very thing we’re calling a mark of death, is the very thing that could lead us to more of who we’re supposed to be?

All the heroes we know, both fictional and real, faced seemingly insurmountable struggles. The reason we know their stories isn’t because they had it easy. It is because when they were called into the dark places they fought and found their way through. We need to start seeing ourselves as the hero of our stories, and then act accordingly.

What if you’re on your Hero’s Journey, and you don’t even know it?

What diagnosis are you allowing to hold you back?

 

Are you in the midst of making a hard decision? Contemplating a big life change? If so, you may be interested in my FREE Making Changes Checklist that I give to all my email friends. Want your free copy?  subscribe here.