Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good;

    his love endures forever. 

Let the redeemed of the Lord tell their story –

    those he redeemed from the hand of the foe, 

those he gathered from the lands,

    from east and west, from north and south.

Psalm 107:1-3

I love stories. Stories of drama and tension, of romance and family, if I can get immersed in a story with a cup of coffee and a slice of cake next to me I’m a happy girl.

But stories are for more than just enjoyment, throughout history stories have encouraged, challenged and told us that we aren’t alone.  

Part of my job involves telling my story; how I’ve experienced God moving through mental illness and how I’ve found redemption in the dark. It’s something that has been as comforting as it has been painful, and the verses from Psalm 107 have been a great encouragement to me through both of those times.

I can’t help but think of David when I read this psalm; David whose story; the good, the bad and the ugly has been central to the Christian faith. Even those parts of our story which don’t show us in the best light, highlight the God who has been writing our redemption from the moment of the Fall.

Story telling does not leave room for shame, because it points to the author of our stories, and our author redeems the worst chapters of our lives so that we can offer them back to Him.

Offering your story of redemption might be telling a close friend about your struggles for the first time, or it might be telling a teacher at school, a tutor at uni, a colleague at work… it might even be blogging about your experiences.  

Whichever way you do it, those who God has redeemed have stories to tell. Stories that can be offered back to God to work in them and through them.

So this World Mental Health Day, how will you #OfferYourStory?

Tweet @ThinkTwiceInfo and let them know! 

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Rachael Newham is the Founding Director of ThinkTwice which offers mental health awareness, training and consultancy. For more information head to www.thinktwiceinfo.org.

Twitter @RachaelNewham90 @ThinkTwiceInfo