I Am A Writer...

i am a writer.
i am a writer.
i am a writer. 


these four words continue to re-shape, re-shift, re-do every thing i know, can feel, and see in this life i'm living. attending synergy 2011 this past weekend reaffirmed the very special gift God's given me to tell a story about the world and people around me, authentically, fully, truly while also creating and placing my voice in the story.


i attended a writer's workshop and got my world rocked while there. workshop leader sharon anderson, in response to my five minute writing snippet, said to me point-blank in the face: "Melody, you need to write. God has smacked you upside the head with the gift. Make space for it, do it, write." i felt humbled and yet scared at the same time. write melody. it's time for you to really write. much of me has wrestled with what's my writing voice as a believer? should it only be redemptive-salvation work? should my writing only be for the church, for the believer? can some be but some not be? what about the rest of the world? what about reality in this world for millions that hasn't been penetrated yet by the Christian gospel? what about those stories? who will tell them? am i to tell them? when will i tell them? 


at the close of the conference, fellow writer lesa engelthaler came up to me and positively rebuked me for not writing more. she asked me if i'd been published. i said not really. she told me i need to be published, not so much to say i'm published, but because my voice, the things i have to say, this voice must be heard by others so that their lives will be changed and made different by the stories and the writings that come from me. she also gave me some very encouraging steps to move toward publishing...more to come on that later.


what lesa said really struck a cord in me the same way what sharon said did. and i'm still chewing on this reality that my writing is not so much for me, my writing is for the whole WORLD. my voice isn't just my voice for me to hear and enjoy. my voice is for the world, my voice is for freedom-telling, my voice is for truth-shouting, my voice is for bondage-breaking, my voice is for the creative, the inspired, the free, the fresh, the new, the slimmer of daybreak when dawn comes and night goes that makes the heart feel HOPE. my voice, my writing is hope, i have the gift of hope in me to give to others through what i write and create. i'm a story teller. i'm a writer. i'm a griot of words, given best written, felt deeply spoken. i give hope. and hope does not disappoint. 


~ m