Your Story is a Song
By Steve Gahagen
Our blog posts this week are a tribute to Madie Hubert, our beloved friend and colleague who embodied the values of Play to Your Strengths.
Madie Hubert’s life song was far too short. It is a song that leaves us wanting so much more. We are like the crowd cheering “encore” at the concert - not wanting the evening to end - shocked that the band isn’t returning to the stage.
Before coming to us at Play to Your Strengths, Madie led worship and captivated people with her singing. Not long ago, she and I teamed up to facilitate the funeral of a long-time friend and supporter. Together, we had the privilege of creating a meaningful experience for a family to celebrate life together. It was a wonderful day! Madie’s voice resonated life and hope. It is hard to believe that so soon we are remembering her life.
If there is a genre for her life song, it is certainly a love song. Madie modeled sacrificial love and generosity in a way that is rare for someone so young. Madie was all about awakening adults and students alike to the gift of their story. And she was passionately intentional about writing her own story.
One of Madie’s surprising character traits, of someone so filled with positivity and empathy, was that she was an encourager in the true sense of the word. Often we use the word “encourage” to describe making people feel good. But it really means to fill someone with courage. Madie was the kind of friend and leader who would encourage others to ascend to the mountain and not settle for the valleys. She would challenge people’s comfort zones and risk their anger, but of course with a bright smile. We will never write our greatest story without a few people around us who want to do the same.
Madie lived a life and sang a song that was filled with passion and vitality. She was fully alive when she died. She left it all on the field/stage and held nothing back. And for all of us at Play to Your Strengths and those she served, her song will forever remain with us.
Questions to Consider:
What are some ways you are being intentional about writing your story?
In what ways are you investing in others to create a great story?
If your life was a song, what unique message would it bring?