The Power of Story

Our week in Acadia brought some challenges for Lou. She meets physical challenges with a great deal of resistance and on our first day had to turn back after getting part way up a trail (which turned out to be a very good thing).

When we decided to bike on the carriage roads, we really wanted her to succeed. We chose what we thought would be a fairly flat 6-mile trail around the lake in the photo above, but it turned out to have a long, steep section.

As we reached the steep part, Lou and I began to walk our bikes. Tears were starting. Frustration was setting in. And then I began the tale of The Forgotten Garden based on a book I had been reading all week.

The story begins with a little girl who is left on a ship in England, told to hide, and is found several weeks later sitting alone on a dock in Australia. It's an enchanted, layered book tracing the lives of a mother, daughter and grand-daughter.

As I re-told the story tears dried up, steps picked up, and our carriage road became a foggy cliff path by the sea in England. Suddenly we were at the top of the mountain with the story unfinished and with a girl proud and eager to keep biking.

The tale of the forgotten garden continued throughout the week as we hiked. Each time we set foot on a path, Lou eagerly looked to me to begin where we had left off and was always surprised when she had made it to the top easily. She ended the week so very proud of herself.

Our children love it when we tell stories. They love stories about when they were babies, stories about our childhoods, and stories such as the one I told all week in Acadia. What they love is that they are stories from the heart. The stories connect them tightly to us and carry them away from feeling lonely in bed or from the challenge of a climb.

It's easy to think that there are no stories inside to tell. But, they are there and waiting for you to spin them out to a little soul who needs them. Don't worry, the story will be just what the little one needs.