Writing for God Begins at Home
By Lori Stanley
Roeleveld
My son-in-law is a chef. You'd think he'd be sick of cooking when not at the restaurant, but instead, we have gourmet meals at holidays.
My husband is a construction manager. You’d think he’d be
exhausted at day’s end (and you’d be correct), but that doesn’t stop him from
renovating our home, putting up bookshelves for our daughter, or helping
neighbors with projects.
I’m a writer.
Thank God that early in my writing endeavors, I encountered a study
in our local newspaper stating that the unhappiest spouses were those in
unhappy marriages to good communicators. I flashed immediately on my tirade to
my husband just the night before. I’d spelled out in great eloquence the depth
and breadth of what I believed were our troubles (largely attributed to him).
God took the opportunity to instruct me that the people in my life should be
the first to benefit from my gift with words—not become victims of it.
If you’d interviewed my family about what it’s like to love a
writer before that awakening, they might have had few positive things to say
about it. (What’s there to say about someone shouting through a closed office
door: “Not now! Can’t you see I’m writing?”)
After that, though, I took to heart that God likely intended
to bless my family, friends, local church, and community through my writing
before He unleashed me on the world. I sought opportunities to serve those I
love with my words through praise, cards, notes, letters to the editor, church
plays, and assistance with everything from resumes to eulogies.
God gave me an expanded vision that my writing ministry could
have an immediate impact on the world right outside my office door without ever
hitting the best-seller list. I realized that even if I never became a
“published author,” He desires to use my words to further His kingdom. That’s
when my words began to bless and build up my spouse, children, and extended
family. They served friends and fellow worshippers. They provided light to
coworkers.
Because God is so great, many of those acts I initially saw as
sacrificial (read “time away from my real writing”) became unexpected stepping
stones in my writing career. My agent discovered my work through letters to the
editor in the paper. Church plays became some of my earliest published work, providing
me with initial writing credentials. But, by then, I’d realized that was all
beside the point.
The benefits of using my writing gift to bless my marriage,
parenting, friendships, and relationships in the greater community are
immeasurable. I shudder to think what damage my words could have caused if God
hadn’t corrected me early on. Like a superhero gone bad, those of us who are
skilled with words need to be sure we’re using them for good and not for evil.
Writing for God begins at home.
I learned that lesson just in time.
What lessons have you learned through this writing journey? We would love to hear from you.
What lessons have you learned through this writing journey? We would love to hear from you.
(Photos courtesy of FreeDigitalPhotos.net and Stuart Miles.)
TWEETABLES
Lori
Stanley Roeleveld is a disturber of hobbits who enjoys making comfortable
Christians late for dinner. She’s authored an inciteful blog since 2009, a
pursuit that eventually resulted in two provocative non-fiction books, Running from a Crazy Man (and other adventures traveling with
Jesus) and Jesus
and the Beanstalk (Overcoming Your Giants and Living a Fruitful Life) as well as an unsettling novella, Red Pen Redemption. If you don’t find her at her website, www.loriroeleveld.com, know she’s off slaying dragons. Lori lives in Rhode Island
with her husband and surrounded by family, absolutely surrounded.
Well said, Lori. Timely and true. A sobering reminder we all need.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Lori. Good name. ;)
ReplyDeleteGreat post, Lori. Thank you so much for sharing. These are words I need to remember on a daily basis. I love the sentence "I realized that even if I never became a “published author,” He desires to use my words to further His kingdom." So true and so refreshing. Well said.
ReplyDelete