Saturday, October 06, 2007

Out of Life's Pathways

Writing. My days (and yes, sometimes nights) are filled with it right now as I'm counting down to the next deadline.

Every single blogger on this site knows what that's about.

So the personal stuff . . . hmmm. Like where do I get my inspiration for what I write about? Right out of life, as they say. For me that includes especially where I live.

For the past twenty-something years, my husband and I have been living in the foothills of the Sierras at a residential ministry for at-risk youth. Our house sits almost in the middle of the 80-acre property, and just about a five-minute walk from the main lodge—the hub of activity for this ministry.

The wooded pathways, grazing deer, and changing seasons stir up the devotional side of my writing. The teaching of the pastors, conversations with the staff, and Bible studies with the young women here challenge me to go deep in my personal study and spiritual walk. That naturally spills into what I write.

But the teen and young adult guys and girls that come to stay here—they have the most profound impact on my writing. Through their tears and pain and then their triumph over the most difficult of situations, I learn facets of God's character I'm not sure I would have learned anywhere else. Each life I see fight a broken past colors my writing with shades of confidence in a God who heals.

So writing for me has been (and still is) a growth process, not only in technique but even more so in its substance.

I think writing is like that . . . or anything else that becomes a part of our expression of service and worship in this life. It grows out of the connections we make and out of where and how we live.

The main thing is that it grows.

You have gifts and talents, things you do well, things you love to do. Ask God to show you how you can use all of it to serve others and serve him. Even if it's in small ways, begin . . . then let it grow.

Always here to pray for you.

Jan

http://www.choose2livefree.com/

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