I wish I could say that some famous writer inspired me to write. Certainly Thornton Berges enchanted me as a boy with his Fables of the Green Forest. J. R. R. Tolkien and C. S. Lewis fired my imagination with their fiction books. And I wanted to live in Zilpha Keatly Snider's Black and Blue Magic paperback. How wonderful, I thought, it would be to be able to fly like a bird with nothing but fresh air surrounding me.
The boring truth is that a certain work counselor started me writing professionally. I forgot his name but not what he encouraged me to do.
I had written CD and cassette reviews for music fan magazines as a hobby. When I showed my tear sheets to the counselor, he suggested I become a professional writer. That appealed to me as I could work from home.
My freelancing success was limited by my poor eyesight. Even so, I had a computer and a screen reader which read aloud my work.
I also used the Reading Edge machine at the library to read scanned in magazines. It made studying publications for possible article sales easier for me.
Writing my three memoirs was therapeutic. Doing so helped me face the traumas of my physical and spiritual youth. Jesus also helped by taking the emotional pain away.
Now I blog for the Lord, providing readers with the excellent Bible teaching I've learned since coming out of a cult. The Epistle of Saint Jude is my inspiration and I hope I'm contending for the faith to Christ's satisfaction.
Thanks for this Bruce
ReplyDeleteHi Bruce! This line caused me to ponder. "I forgot his name but not what he encouraged me to do." This statement reminded me while people might not remember our names does not mean they weren't impacted by us in some way. In this way I'm pondering if we are truly "unknown" even if our name is forgotten. This "unknown man" is blessed in that you respected and honoured him in living out the fact you are a professional writer. Keep writing, my friend.
ReplyDeleteI hope people remember what I've done for them as I remember that counsellor and what he did.
DeleteGreat blog, Bruce. May I say, “Ditto” to what Alan said above. So true!
ReplyDeleteBruce, like Alan, I was moved by your comment that even though you forgot the fellow's name, you never forgot the encouragement he gave you. Blessings as you keep writing!
ReplyDeleteThornton Burgess was prolific, but the book I remember best from my childhood was his Adventures of Mr. Mocker. I probably still have it at my mother's! Thank you for this memory, Bruce.
ReplyDeleteI'll have to check out more of Thornton Burges' works. Thanks for the tip.
DeleteI, too, was impacted by your statement: "I forgot his name but not what he encouraged me to do." Thanks for reminding us that our words go out into the world, we let them go and do what God intends through them, but we may be forgotten. "He (Jesus) must increase but I must decrease," comes to mind. God bless you as you continue to write!
ReplyDeleteWe never expect where the signals we send out will land. It's one reason I love radio so much. Our Lord uses our words and works for his glory.
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