Being a Yeh Yeh for the fifth time has trained me to be able to tell a story without actually reading the words. A grandchild selects a book and from having told it many times before, you simply begin by saying, “Once upon a time…” and you end it with “they lived happily ever after.” If the child is still too young to know, every episode is right and if the child were old enough to know the real series of events, she would correct you. In the end, it’s not how you tell the story that’s important but it’s the fact that you told the story at all.
Lauren and Daniel have once again named their child with a name that is endowed with promise and possibilities. While Sage already possesses the gift of wise sayings, Story suggests to us that life is not just a one-act play. Born on May 23rd, Story has had 107 days of eating, burping, sleeping, pooping, and giggling to connect together for a tale. Every day of her life, every week, month, and year, every grade she completes in school, every milestone she comes across, every time you reprimand your daughter, every boyfriend she meets, every achievement and even some failures along the way will be strung together to compose this life story of Story Ng Kushner. And tonight we are happy to have all of you play the roles of the supporting characters in this true story of Story.
Story is named after a slight play on the sound of the name of one of her Great Grandfather Torrey Shih. Here is a servant of God with a great life story. We hope that Lauren and Daniel will take time to tell this story to Story when she’s old enough to listen to it. This true story is about trusting God during difficult times and following Christ’s ways to the very end. It’s a good read.
One of the greatest stories ever told is like one of those “fast-breaking stories” that’s newsworthy to be reported. The life and ministry of Jesus Christ is such a front-page story that 4 writers wrote about it and to this day, the Bible is still the most popular and read book in history. When we see our life stories along side with the life story of Jesus Christ, our stories become full of adventure, drama, glory, and love. And like every good story at the end, we can say, “they lived happily ever after.”
Today, we officially welcome Story Ng Kushner into this community of family to begin her life story. It’s already 107 days long but we pray and hope in the love and providence of God our Creator that Story will live a long life and people near and far might one day say, “Here’s Story, she is living a life that is worth telling.”
Yeh Yeh (9 7 2008)