Writing Again

I have not written much this year. I haven’t kept a journal since January, and there are not my normal yearly number of entries on the Notes app. At the beginning of the year I deleted all social media accounts, and cut back on the number of devotions that I write for OpenDoorsUSA. I have not been as consistent with sending letters, and have all but abandoned the blogging world at this point. 

For whatever reason, it was important for me to be reconnected deeply to the world directly in front of me for a season–Not journals, not Instagram posts, not snail mail, not FaceTime, but the people, tasks, and seasons in my little community. I needed to see, and feel, and touch, and know my home and people here. And that required putting aside some hobbies for a while. 

But here I am now. Writing.

Several friends from different circles of my life have asked recently if I’ve been writing. I haven’t, really, but always am. Writing just doesn’t always make it out of my head. I’ve taken a break, and if I’m honest, it’s been longer than a year. 

So here I am again, trying this quiet space. I want to not only finish some writing pieces, but to share them.  It’s difficult for me to feel like any bit of writing is complete (even now I am thinking of how difficult it will be to call this post complete). Sometimes writing is the most exhausting thing. 

When I think of the main reasons why I am compelled to write, I continue to come back to two things:

1. A Desire to Remember How The LORD Has Led Me

The times I have gone back to read through old journals, unpublished essays, or past social media posts it has surprised me how quick I am to forget the kind works of God in my life. The Israelites and I are siblings in fickle memory. I need to write to remind myself of God’s continual faithfulness. 

2. A Desire to Nurture The Hearts of Others 

Writing is such a private thing, but is also deeply communal, and each word takes something from you. Though writing is a deeply personal medium, no one writes a book for just themselves to read. Within every piece of writing lies a desire to connect. If by sharing some of my writing I am able to encourage, nurture, or connect with others, I have aided both myself and the reader to partake in a shared blessing. My hope for my writing is to encourage those who read it, most especially those in my local community and church. I want writing to be an act of service and love to those around me. There will be many times that I fail or fall short, lack the words, or absolutely butcher obvious grammar rules, but I do not want to hold back that which may uplift another out of the fear of imperfection. 

So this is another try at this writing thing. 

I am sharing this on a tiny blog on a sharing platform that is quickly dying. It almost seems counterproductive to share writing with a desire to connect on a blog with half a dozen subscribers, but it also seems the most fitting and timely thing. I want to serve my community in the quiet and small places, and I hope this blog serves such a role.