One of the “advantages” of this past year — the year God stopped the world — is that a love of writing was awakened within me. That, plus reconnecting with friends around the world, was what sustained me when trying to make sense of the myriad of challenges COVID threw our way. I’m one of those people who is all thumbs when it comes to creating with handcrafts (think knitting, embroidery, painting/drawing)… but words… words open my mind to what’s going on in my heart and soul, allowing me to put on paper what is often difficult to express in spoken communication.
And so, when we first went into lockdown, I — in a most UNcharacteristic manner — volunteered to write a blurb for our local church newsletter. It started as an attempt to bring encouragement to others coping with the “new normals” that were hurled at us at lightning speed. It started as a “probably-will-do-this-for-a-few-weeks” kind of thing that morphed into a weekly thing — 57 “installments” to be exact! It started with me having NO idea what I would write when I sat at my computer each week… and yet became a joyful exercise of watching God put together thoughts that He then used not only in my life personally, but also in the lives of those who read them.
One thing I learned through this is: I cannot NOT write! Actually, my good friend Betsy, one of those I started zooming with regularly during COVID, told me this. I was blinded to this truth… but hey, that’s what good friends are for, right?!?
Awakening a love of writing and reconnecting with friends definitely have been key factors sustaining me this past year … and yet those are rooted in the foundational, most important factor: my relationship with God. As a Christ follower, what I write often reflects the hope that I have because of a decision I made as a university student to commit my life to Him. And it’s because of that decision I’m able to have joy in the journey of this thing called “Life.”
I hope that these musings encourage you as well!
August 23, 2021
Joy in the Journey 