The Journey of Writing

 When I was in the 8^th grade,

My Sunday School Teacher gave me a journal for graduation.

On the inside cover,

It said, “Congradulations.”

I used that journal to record middle and high school songs and poems,

And I’ve added many other journals to the collection since.

I used to write a lot of songs and poems.

I still have many of the rough drafts—

Scribbled on yellow legal paper, or napkins, or envelopes, or anything I could find to write upon.

These days, I write less by hand and more on the computer.

I also write less poetry and more prose.

I’ve never been a diary keeper or a fiction writer,

But I enjoy reflecting upon “life, work, and spirituality.”

I think my love for writing began during my junior year of high school,

When my English teacher, Mrs. Royal, encouraged me to write.

My senior English teacher, Mrs. Smith, continued the encouragement,

But then I got to college where my freshman English professor, Dr. Colby, dealt me a major blow:

My only B in my undergraduate studies.

I could not write a thesis statement to save me!

I spent many hours in Dr. Colby’s office,

Talking, crying, working, trying to become a better writer.

For a year after that class, I remember being hesitant to write.

I was afraid my writing wasn’t good enough.

I was afraid that I was going to fail.

Thankfully, life brought me out of that depression and I wrote more freely again.

When Live Journal was a thing, I posted dramatic posts of my life and work at the time.

When I was in Divinity School, one of my favorite classes was the Ministry of Writing, taught by Dr. Cartledge.

When Facebook became a thing, and I finally joined,

I wrote to give glimpses into the life of a full-time vocational minister (although I wasn’t called a minister at the time).

That was almost fourteen years ago.

I have written two notes per week almost every year since,

And I have watched my writing style change over time.

At Johnsonville, I held a weekly writing competition to get students writing.

I didn’t care about the quality of their writing as much as I cared they were writing!

At GW, I have taken it upon myself to become the point person for the Young Authors Writing Competition.

I have a vague memory of writing for the competition when I was with Mrs. Royal,

So when I became connected with it again,

I knew that I wanted to encourage my students write.

This year, GW had 16 State Writing Competition Winners!

Thanks to a handful of classroom teachers,

We had writers from every grade level, and almost every grade level was represented on the state level.

This is huge!

And I am so proud.

And I am so thankful that that middle school girl who dramatically wrote in her “Congradulations” journal didn’t stop writing…

And I hope that she never will.

 

Amen.