Where there is ruin, there is hope for a treasure.
– Rumi

Joyful is the person who finds wisdom,
the one who gains understanding.
For wisdom is more profitable than silver,
and her wages are better than gold.
Wisdom is more precious than rubies;
nothing you desire can compare with her.

(Proverbs 3:13-15)

For several months, I have been meeting with a group of friends for the sole purpose of sharing and holding one another’s stories. These have been stories of laughter, beauty, pain, and complexity. Each time we meet, someone volunteers to tell their story based on a selected theme. It has been fascinating to recognize the Providence in who tells what story and when—often stories we hadn’t planned to share ahead of time.

I’ve typically told a story that I didn’t know I needed to tell. There is power in the process of simply sharing and bearing witness to one another’s stories, noticing the pattern of God’s presence woven throughout. I have discovered a beautiful irony in the practice of Spirit-led storytelling: it is only through telling and accepting our personal stories that we begin to sense our place in The Story—God’s loving plan of redemption for the world.

When taking time away from writing regularly during August, I began to sense God’s gentle invitation to examine the stories I avoid telling—stories that evoke shame, that threaten to pull me under the waters of despair. In a way only God could have orchestrated, I had committed back in January to share my story of marital brokenness on another blog. Like it or not, I had promised to tell this story, and it was due in August.

It was uncomfortable to recall the years of pain I have tried to forget. Because I have experienced immense healing, it was a story I did not think I needed to re-examine. But by encountering my story of heartache again, I discovered God’s presence and grace in places I hadn’t noticed at the time. I saw glimmers of redemption where I once saw only darkness. I have shared this story with many of you, and have been met with nothing but sheer kindness and grace. This, too, is redemption.

Our Stories Matter

Here’s the difficult truth about storytelling:

The stories we bury deep underground—the ones we are afraid will resurface and ruin us—are likely the stories that need to be told the most.

Why?

Because, as we examine our stories in all their complexity and pain, we become witnesses of our own redemption.

When we bravely enter the darkness of our stories for the purpose of rediscovering God’s presence in them, our eyes adjust as we begin to see by a different light. We find things we hadn’t noticed before. In the depths we are shown glimmers of gold in dark caverns—diamonds shimmering in mountains of coal.

These treasures are the essence of wisdom, which is why scripture describes wisdom as something we must seek with our whole selves—no matter the cost.

The Search for Wisdom

The search for wisdom begins with our stories.
We mine the depths of our lives, turning over every stone in search of God’s presence.

The author of Proverbs describes this search for insight as a treasure hunt:

Cry out for insight, and ask for understanding.
Search for them as you would for silver;
seek them like hidden treasures.
Then you will understand what it means to fear the Lord,
and you will gain knowledge of God.

(Proverbs 2:3-5)

These verses tell me that wisdom’s treasures are hard-won; they are not visible chunks of gold lying about on the surface of the earth. We have to actually seek what is hidden like buried treasure, which is how Jesus describes the kingdom of God (Matthew 13:44). Proverbs calls this search “the fear the LORD.” And it is hard, holy, and lifelong work.

My husband likes to point out this lifelong pattern of wisdom as described by the writer of Ecclesiastes: “I saw, then I considered.” Wisdom comes from uncovering our eyes to see our stories and experiences as they are—not as we think we should be. But sight alone is not enough. We must also consider, for seeing without considering is another form of blindness: denial.

It is easy to choose the comfort of avoidance over the painful yet beautiful work of becoming whole. But when we bravely see and consider our stories, we are ready to receive the treasures of wisdom. We experience the fear of the LORD when we are able to hold our stories up to the light and recognize God’s redemption woven like a golden thread throughout. Our storied lives become beacons of hope to a hurting world.

The Fruit of Wisdom

Understanding our stories in light of God’s Story is difficult work. There are times our questions will not be answered. When we cannot see where God is or was in our stories, we can ask His Spirit to fill us with insight. We cry out for wisdom when we simply pray, “God, show me where you were in that difficult season.” Through prayer and reflection, we ask His Spirit of wisdom to show us the truth about ourselves and His character.

In Proverbs 8, God invites us to seek him through the voice of Wisdom. I encourage you to read this passage as if it were God speaking directly to you, inviting you deeper into your own story:

Listen to me! For I have important things to tell you.
Everything I say is right,
for I speak the truth
and detest every kind of deception.
My advice is wholesome.
There is nothing devious or crooked in it.
My words are plain to anyone with understanding,
clear to those with knowledge.
Choose my instruction rather than silver,
and knowledge rather than pure gold.
For wisdom is far more valuable than rubies.
Nothing you desire can compare with it.

(Proverbs 8:6-11)

Beloved of God, is there a story you’ve been too afraid to see and consider, even with yourself? Maybe it’s time to bring it out into the light. You do not have to carry it alone. Consider sharing your story with a trusted friend, counselor, or pastor. Seek insight through re-examining your story under the light of God’s grace.

In doing so, may you become whole as you seek and find the treasures of wisdom.