Meeting Laura Story!

Me, Laura Story, and my friend/co-worker, Carrie!

On February 27th, 2016 we had our annual Women’s Conference at my church. This year, the theme was “Indescribable,” and our guest speaker was Laura Story. We had around 600 women in attendance. ”Indescribable” was truly a fitting word for this event! 
 
I think what I loved most about Laura is that she is so relatable and down-to-earth (I also think it’s cool that her last name is Story). She told us everyday stories of her being a mom and wife, how much she loves eating scones, and she stayed long after the conference to individually meet, sign autographs, and take pictures with anyone who wanted to meet her. She even took the time to pray with several people during the meet and greet. To me, this showed that Laura is truly passionate about the calling God has on her life. 
 
Besides being so relatable, I loved that Laura Story was very clear that her story is not how she planned it to be - that God doesn’t always give us stories wrapped in “pretty white bows," but that He is still a good and loving Father. Soon after she got married, her husband was diagnosed with a brain tumor, and her family’s whole life changed. God has not yet chosen to completely heal her husband, and Laura openly shared the struggles of day-to-day living with someone who has a disability. However, Laura Story shared these truths with us:
 
“We can choose blessing over bitterness.”
 
“Everything that happens in our life is filtered through the hands of a loving God.”
 
“Everyday I can choose to evaluate my God based on my circumstances, or I can evaluate my circumstances based on what I know about my God.”
 
Hearing these truths was so encouraging. Besides being a gift speaker, Laura is a Grammy award winning singer and songwriter. She played two songs for us: “Blessings” and “I Can Just Be Me.” I love that the song “Blessings” was written in response to her husband’s brain tumor diagnosis. God used an incredibly difficult time to give Laura words that would bring hope and encouragement to people all around the world (and win her a Grammy!). It was truly an amazing day!