Monday, July 2, 2012

Finding my voice


 (image from http://blog.vistage.com/business-leadership/values-statements/)

'He comes alongside us when we go through hard times, and before you know it, he brings us alongside someone else who is going through hard times so that we can be there for that person just as God was there for us.'
(2 Corinthians 1:4)

This is why I write.  

I have been through a lot of challenges in my short time on this earth, in nearly every facet of life we have to deal with -  growing up, my marriage, having kids and raising them, my health, career, financially, spiritually and creatively.  I cannot say that any area of my life has ever been without pain and loss, and failure - I have often joked that I'm the friend that people like to have because having me around makes them feel better about their own lives!!

In all seriousness, I have a very blessed, wonderful life, it's just one that has been fraught with obstacles and challenges, many of my own doing, some out of my control.  But you know what?

I wouldn't change a thing.

Not. One. Single. Thing.

Every single experience I've had, every challenge I've faced, every triumph I've rejoiced over has shaped who I am now, has moulded me into being the person I'm just now really getting to know (and actually like). 

Even before I came to truly know God and His purpose in and for my life, I've always believed that going through whatever we do can serve to help other people, that our experiences are never wasted, without purpose.  When I first started getting to know His word, I came across the scripture above, and it was like a light went on, discovering that what I had always thought and believed was His truth.  It was such confirmation of how the truth of God and His word is placed within us, intrinsic to our very being even if we don't know him, aren't actively seeking Him.

I've tried to think of that passage when I've wondered what the purpose is in my pain and loss, when there doesn't seem to be any rhyme or reason to an experience, I can't say that it's always brought me peace and comfort, but I'm always reassured that my experience will serve a purpose bigger than me at some point in my journey, and someone else's.

In trying to discover my voice, to work out what the purpose of writing in my life is, I'm realising that I have a story to tell - not just to myself, but to share with the world.  Every single fibre of my being wants to apologise for that, to add a caveat of 'even though no-one's interested, who am I to think people will want to hear what I have to say?', and I fight against that every time I sit down to write. 

We all have a story.  We all have a voice that needs to be heard.  We don't know the power of the words we share, what impact they can have on those who read them, but we have an obligation to reach out and offer up our lives to each other, to form connections and relationships.  John Donne said it so eloquently - 

No Man Is An Island

No man is an island,
Entire of itself.
Each is a piece of the continent,
A part of the main.
If a clod be washed away by the sea,
Europe is the less.
As well as if a promontory were.
As well as if a manor of thine own
Or of thine friend's were.
Each man's death diminishes me,
For I am involved in mankind.
Therefore, send not to know
For whom the bell tolls,
It tolls for thee.


It is as I posted yesterday, we are created to be part of one body, and for a body to function well, all parts need to connect and communicate.  We know that when a part of us is injured or unwell, our whole body is affected.  The same goes for us as a community - when one of us is sick or not functioning well, we all feel it, whether we realise it or not.

I don't know where this journey will take me, who'll travel it with me, what I'll learn along the way.  I know I just need to start, to take a deep breath and step out in faith.

So here goes.

 

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