Day 5: Stewards of the Story (Surrender + Mission)

After the attack, we had a choice: stay stuck in the trauma or surrender it to God. We chose surrender. So did Jameson.

He didn’t focus on what he lost. He focused on what was next: a new leg, more baseball, a return to the reef—and most of all, a mission to encourage others.

But here’s the deeper truth God taught us: our story doesn’t belong to us alone. We’re not just survivors. We’re stewards of the story.

There’s a trap we’ve seen again and again—it’s what we call the “keep-it-private trap.” When something is deeply personal, it feels like it should stay private. But when we keep our pain hidden, we miss out on what God wants to do through it. He wants to transform your pain into purpose, and then give you the privilege of going public.

That’s where the power comes in—because when your story goes public, others find freedom. Your surrender becomes someone else’s breakthrough. Your scars become a signpost of God’s healing.

But if we stay silent, the healing stops with us.

And the world is desperate for real healing. Because most people, when they hurt, look down and in. But all they find is more pain, more confusion, more pressure. So they turn to the world—and the world offers hype instead of help. Hype says: “Do more. Try harder. Push through.” But that’s not healing. That’s exhausting.

Jesus offers something radically different.

“Come to me, all who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” (Matthew 11:28 NIV)

Hope doesn’t demand more effort—it delivers real rest. And when we steward our story, we become lifters of heads, helping people look up and see the One who can truly heal them.

Psalm 121 says, “I lift up my eyes to the hills—where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord…” When we lift our story to God, He uses it to lift others to Himself.

And that’s exactly what God is looking for.

“The eyes of the Lord search the whole earth in order to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him.” (2 Chronicles 16:9 NLT)

Let Him find you committed. Let Him find you surrendered. Let Him find you stewarding your story for His glory.

Prayer: Father, I surrender my story to You. Help me resist the trap of silence and the exhaustion of hype. Let me find my rest in You—and help others find it too. Use my story to lift heads and bring healing. I want to be a faithful steward of the story You’re writing. Amen.