I have had many opportunities to minister through my writing for which
I am very grateful, although I truly think that in the end, I was the one most
ministered to.
One of my favorite parts of being a reporter was the fact that on a
daily basis I was able to interact with the public in ways that I otherwise
wouldn’t have been able to and allowed a door into their world of which I
always felt so awkwardly grateful; like a stranger showing up on their doorstep
and yet being warmly welcomed into their innermost lives. I took it for the
gift that it was and always tried to listen more than I talked so as to best be
able to retell their stories to others.
Some of the more poignant that come to mind:
Sitting with a war veteran who was present on D-Day as he bravely retold his experience and quietly shifting perspective to his wife’s version when he could no longer go on.
Being on scene near Mossbank Saskatchewan after two Snowbird Pilots had a collision in mid-air and then a few years later speaking with the deceased pilot's young widow when she unveiled a painting in his honour at Moose Jaw.
Interviewing the father of a young man shot and killed in the halls of his own high school in Alberta; listening to his grief and feeling awed and humbled at how his message of forgiveness was even stronger than his grief.
All of those moments and others felt holy in a sense.
I then went back to my desk and tried my best to put such heartfelt thoughts into words for the newspapers’ readers. I wanted to make them feel even a measure of what I had felt listening to these stories, but quite honestly I don’t think I ever did it justice. Thus is the life of a writer; we feel so deeply either our own stories or those of others, but then comes the committing of it to paper and sometimes it seems as if there are no words adequate enough; to really bring to life what we could sense in the heart. But still it is what we do and what we strive for. What I strive for. It is a sort of casting out of our words in the hopes that they will reach someone, like a message in a bottle and help them in some way. One of my favorite poetic verses is; ‘Cast your bread upon the waters, for you will find it after many days.’ Eccl:11:1. As writers let’s continue to cast out our stumbling, inadequate words out upon the waters of God’s grace and in faith believe that He will use them in some way to minister to others.
So true, Gloria. It is difficult to find adequate words, and like you say, we can only trust God to help our words reach others. I always liked reading your words, though, and still do!
ReplyDeletePam
thanks for sharing, Gloria. I'm from Mossbank so it was especially cool for me to see my little hometown mentioned. :)
ReplyDeleteThank you Pam & Tracy for your encouragement. It always means so much. Tracy one thing that amazed me about being a small town reporter out of Assiniboia was just how much really goes on, including provincial and national events of interest. Of course, the Snowbird accident was incredibly sad and I will never forget driving out there that day.
ReplyDeleteHi Gloria! Thank you again for a heart tugging post. I love your mention of holy moments. I resonate with these moments. You have cast out some words and they have reached me. I would like some more please! Thank you my friend!
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for always being so encouraging Alan. It is good to know that my words do reach some people. :)
ReplyDelete"Cast your bread upon the waters, for you will find it after many days." This is such a perfect verse for every Christian, but it seems especially apt for writers. I enjoyed reading your story about interviewing people and then sharing their experiences with your readers. We learn from each other's stories and we grow. Thanks for touching our hearts and encouraging us in our own writing.
ReplyDeleteThanks Sharon :) It really is a great verse for writers. Sometimes we may wait a long time to see any results from our efforts.
DeleteGloria, you did share in some holy moments, and my guess is that you conveyed it in your articles. I appreciated your closing verse and comments:
ReplyDeleteAs writers let’s continue to cast out our stumbling, inadequate words out upon the waters of God’s grace and in faith believe that He will use them in some way to minister to others.
Thank you Jocelyn. I hope so! I relate so well to the 'casting' out part of that verse. It's how I tend to handle writing, especially very personal parts of my life. I try to just think of them as words, cast out and then I tend to almost forget about them, until they come back to me in the form of someone making a remark of how my words touched them or some insight that they gained from them. A lovely verse for writers I think.
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