The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.
He makes me lie down in green pastures.
He leads me beside still waters.
He restores my soul.
He leads me in paths of righteousness
for his name's sake.
Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil,
for you are with me;
your rod and your staff,
they comfort me.
You prepare a table before me
in the presence of my enemies;
you anoint my head with oil;
my cup overflows.
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me
all the days of my life,
and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord
forever.
Psalm 23 (ESV)
Our writing prompt for September asks, “How has your writing life progressed thus far in 2025? Are you encouraged to move ahead?” The positive ring of the prompt caught my attention right away and caused me to ponder what I would write as a response.
Has my writing life progressed?
Yes! One sign of my writing having progressed is this blog. This is my tenth year of contributing to our InScribe Writers Online Blog. Much of the progress in my writing is because of encouragement from other InScribe members. This progress encourages me not to cease my quest to become a talented writer.
I know my writing has progressed by people who read my poetry and told me they feel the words. This is not a cause to brag but to thank the Lord for His mercy through life-giving hope.
Am I encouraged to move ahead?
Yes! I say yes because I must. I must move ahead to accomplish a labour of love I hope to offer people. Please allow me to explain.
Encouraged to be a Voice
I have mentioned the book I am writing in a few past posts on this blog. The book is primarily a collection of poetic words dedicated to grandparents who grieve the death of grandchildren. In my conversations and correspondence with grandparents and parents who grieve, they have noted grandparents need a “voice.” I continue in my writing as a step of faith that my words will help to be such a voice.
This has not been an easy book to write, and I am glad for this. The emotional challenges I have experienced are fuel for moving ahead. Interactions with those who grieve over their grandchildren come with raw reality. As the author, I hope to capture the emotion of the experiences the grandparents live with. I will capture their experiences once I have listened to them. Then, the words in the book will express their voices.
A few grandparents have read some of my poems. They told me they feel the impact of the words. From this, they have taught me that our words are part of us. Our minds and hearts give birth to our words, then our pens send them on their journey to help other people.
I move ahead because I must. There are also motivations in life urging me to carry on. One motivation is the promise I made to my grandbabies in heaven. I assured them they mattered, and I would not forget them.
Another motivation to continue came through a message I received from a dear InScribe member. This member informed me of a friend of hers who is grieving the death of her baby grandchild. There is also a grandmother who grieves over the murder of her teenage grandson. Other stories also exist, and each expresses a deep longing.
Encouraged because words give life
I write because God used writing to help heal my grief through hope. I write not for myself but for those in search of hope beyond their grief, beyond their pain.
As I move ahead with my voice, may every word, paragraph, and chapter written be a heartbeat, a breath, to offer healing to those who grieve. May they know there is hope beyond the pain of grief, and may God grant them mercy to let them know they are not alone.
Alan lives in a small village called Deroche, British Columbia, with his wife, Terry, and their poodle, Charlie. He enjoys walking on the dike near his home with trees all around and where he finds inspiration to write. He occasionally writes articles for FellowScript Magazine and is a regular contributor to the InScribe Christian Writers’ Fellowship blog. Alan’s website and blog is https://scarredjoy.ca.
Thank you, Alan, for this encouraging post. It's wonderful to read how the InScribe community has helped you along your writing path. And those who have lost grandchildren, born or unborn, will never forget them. I long to see a few of those lost little ones in heaven one day. Your words "Our minds and hearts give birth to our words, then our pens send them on their journey to help other people" are so true. Be blessed.
ReplyDeleteWe are on a journey together, Lorrie. I'm happy we can encourage each other. Thank you for what you and Brenda do for us as our moderators. Blessings to you!
DeleteYour work in progress is a labour of love, Alan. You listen to people's heartbreaking story of their loss. You recognize the grief of grandparents, because you have been there too. Thus. you give special space in your book of poems to honour a grandparents' grief when a loss occurs. I remember the birth of each of our grandchildren. My husband and I cherished the birth of each grandchild, like it was a gift from our children to us, but also a gift from a birth mom, and from God. Each of our three children, now adults, was adopted as an infant, so in a sense they came "gift-wrapped" as well. (Being adoptive parents may have that same sense of gratitude that grandparents have.) Over the years, our two daughters have each given us three grand ones, which, of course, adds to our gratitude to the two young women who carried and gave birth to our children. Like the rest of you, however, I cannot grasp the sense of loss, Alan, that some of you have suffered. Perhaps, I'll read these poems in your book some time in the not-to-distant future and you will give me insight. I encourage you, with God's help, to continue what you've begun. Blessings in your endeavours, Alan. .
DeleteThank you for your kind encouragement and for your personal story, my friend. I will cherish your comments.
ReplyDelete10 years! Time flies... Congrats and thank you for your encouragement in this post.
ReplyDelete