I just finished reading a graphic novel about Nelson Mandela.  I was in college during the height of the anti-apartheid movement in the United States.  My college, and many others, set up shanty-towns on campus to demonstrate solidarity with the Black South Africans.  I remember there being workshops, sit-ins and teach-ins.  People got arrested for political protests.  We donated money to the cause and we stopped doing business at companies that refused to divest in South Africa.  It was a great moment for all of us when Mandela got out of jail.  He was imprisoned for 27 years.  It was inconceivable to me that someone could be in jail longer than I had been alive.  I remember people commenting on how poised and dignified he was.  People admired his loyalty to the ANC.  We liked seeing he and Winnie walk together.  They were a good looking couple.

The guy who was freed from legion demons was so grateful that he wanted to follow Jesus.  Instead, he was told to “Go home to your family and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you” (Mark 5:19).  So my word of wisdom for today is that you tell your own story.  Now, if I had been demon-possessed, living in a graveyard, and cutting myself with stones, I would be ashamed and afraid to tell someone that story.  However, when people tell me their shameful stories, those are the stories that impress me the most.  I’m impressed because I get a clear picture of what God has really done for someone.  I get the before and after picture.  I’m also impressed when I hear the story of a person who could easily be embittered and broken by what they’ve been through; but instead they’re joyful and grateful to God.  I like to hear a person’s “how I got over” story.

(http://www.nelsonmandela.org/news/entry/nelson-mandela-comic-book-wins-award)