Why The Sharing Of Our Stories Is Holy Work

Since the dawn of time, our people have sat around fires and kitchen tables telling stories. We are made of remembrance, passing our tales on from generation to generation like oral keepsakes. Our storytelling is more profound than talk. 

It has kept traditions, truths, and beliefs alive. It’s kept us close to history and memory in ways that colonialism intentionally tried to erase. Although we’ve been doing this for centuries, the Bible tells us to continue to remember. 

God told Joshua to set up stones of remembrance, marking when the Jordan River stopped flowing so they could cross it. When not one foot came up wet during their crossing, Joshua told the nation they must always stop and share the story when the next generation asks what the stones mean. 

Our remembrance is holy.

Cole Arthur Riley, author of This Here Flesh, writes, “Memory is not just to be held but to be told—and this is especially true in a world where we are so often refused the right to tell our own stories. Part of the power of remembrance is in its recitation.”

Our stories are essential to liberation; sharing them is a sacred tradition we must always continue.