power of shared story

Mandy's been away this weekend. It's her yearly women's weekend away with her closest friends from college. Anytime she's with Krystal, Jolleen, Giordi, Sarah, and Stephanie; it is as if they've never left college. Their relationships are as strong as ever. Mandy always comes back and talks about the different things these women are doing in their lives, and the excitement is written all over her face.

Anytime I talk with friends from college or seminary we always seem to be able to pick right up where we left off. If we weren't a bit older, we'd probably do some of the same things we did in college that we couldn't get away with doing now...Chinese food at 2 am, different pranks, scavenger hunts throughout the city, wiffle ball at midnight. Even though our life dynamics have completely changed (children, different communities, different cities)...there is something about when we are together that immediately returns our relationships to the moments we had experienced together and we've never left...

Throughout this first summer of the B. Moore Project, we've worked hard to create the beginnings of what we've all experienced with those kinds of friends. That level of trust, comfortability...the shared stories. The power of shared stories, shared experiences is something that cannot be measured or evaluated. Even as we think of ways to evaluate what we do in BMP its hard to explain how trust has been built. In reality, that's something that is built/earned...not just through trust-building exercises, but through shared stories. We've spent the summer doing things together, movies, bowling, dinner (Seven River's BBQ being our favorite), camping, and just talking. What we have been focusing on in this Trust-Building Stage is the creation of shared stories. As we seek to mentor these young men and strengthen the relationships that will strengthen each other and thus strengthen our community...we need to create opportunities for shared story. These things bind us together, these are things we have experienced together and that can never change, it is now forever a part of our stories, not just as individuals, but as a group.

Even as we continue to encourage the young men to move into manhood, these moments can never cease. School is coming quickly, the life dynamics we are experiencing are going to change in expected and unexpected ways. We can't stop sharing meals (this has its own power), we cannot stop sharing laughter, sharing life. Those shared stories make it possible for us to pick back up where we left off, no matter whether it has been a week, a month, or a year.