Defining Whispers by Wendy L. Macdonald

 

Sewing supplies aren’t the only things that can be repurposed. Before I explain, what this has to do with writing, please allow me to share some whispers that led me to this truth.

There are a lot of significant words I’m sure I’ve forgotten; words others have spoken to me that were helpful and encouraging in my writing life. Yet, there are some defining whispers that touched me in a way that hinted there was a new way I was supposed to go.  

One such whisper happened during a home-based business gathering I attended many moons ago with some neighbors. The meeting was held in my living room because I had a brood of youngsters to keep an eye on too. At the time, my mission was to create one-of-a-kind handmade purses I designed and created using remnant, repurposed, and retro fabrics and/or notions. Making those purses was an artsy adventure of love. Each purse was unique and each had its own name.   

During one meeting, a motivational coach asked me a question something like, “What are you passionate about contributing to the world?”

 After some brief thought, I said, “To create and inspire beauty.”

Beauty is one of the basics for a lovely life. Beautiful decorating, beautiful gardens, beautiful music, beautiful art…well, I’m sure you get the idea. 

Then she dropped a line that lit the fuse of doubt concerning my purse pursuit, “There may be other ways you can contribute beauty to the world that you haven’t discovered yet.”

True. Making purses was a slow way to beautify the world. Only two local stores at the time carried my creations. But her words stuck with me and caused me to wonder if God was calling me to something better—something bigger—than a handbag.

I had contemplated becoming a writer. But by the time the information package for a writing course arrived in the mail, my mind was elbow deep in homeschooling our three children. The forms for the Christian correspondence course never got signed, sealed, and sent. Thankfully, I continued writing in my journals. (A practice I began in 1983 during my recovery from eating disorders.)

The next whisper came when our family moved to town, and my sewing stuff was moved to the south-facing attic room. My husband and son placed a large desk under the window that overlooked an ancient cherry tree in the front garden. A whisper in my heart suggested it was the perfect space for a writer. By this time, only one store carried my handmade items since the first one closed its doors. I hadn’t made the effort to find another one. But I’d been bit by the blogging bug.

Yes. The room did indeed look like a writer’s room. 

And that’s when I obeyed God’s nudge to allow writing to eclipse sewing as my main way of creating beauty. I still sew now and then. Rarely purses. Now my sewing machine is used to create journals for writing in. All the stuff I collected for purse-making is perfect for making junk journals. Hooray. It makes my day not to waste so much as a button.

With writing, one doesn’t waste a thread of life experience either. They're all usable for blogs, poems, and devotionals. And bigger projects too. 

I’m nosy-to-know the moment you realized writing was a bigger deal than the cards you already held in your hands?  

Beautiful blessings ~ Wendy Mac   

    

 They will be called oaks of righteousness,

    a planting of the Lord

    for the display of his splendor.

Isaiah 61:3 NIV

Wendy L. Macdonald is an inspirational blogger and podcaster who loves to photograph nature on Vancouver Island. Her byline is: “My faith is not shallow because I’ve been rescued from the deep.” Her main website is wendylmacdonald.com where she enjoys interacting with readers.