Writers as Keepers by Michelle Joy Teigrob

 

What if we as Christian writers see our role as keepers? Of course, a keeper must have something that he or she is keeping. What might that be?

In the Bible, there are keepers of all sorts of things. They read like roles in medieval tales. Here are just some I found:

- keeper of the prison
- keeper of the East Gate
- keeper of the wardrobe
- keeper of the door
- keeper of the records
- keeper of the money box
- and many references to keeper of the sheep.

The word keeper in the biblical context has some similarity to the word manager in our times. A keeper would be responsible for a certain item, like the wardrobe or the door.

However, the role goes beyond just being responsible for an item, at least in certain contexts. The keeper would also be taking on the role of protector. That is a connotation that doesn’t necessarily come up in relation to the word manager. The keeper of the sheep, for example, would be ensuring the safety the animals.

The keeper in certain contexts might also be preserving the item. The keeper of the records, for example, would be ensuring the documents were kept intact.

So, back to my question, if we as Christian writers see ourselves as keepers, what might we be responsible for, protect, and preserve?

What if we are the keepers of hope for this generation?

There is so much trouble and so much hopelessness, more so than ever, it seems. How might our words, the words we write, keep hope alive for those who read our work?

Not long ago, my children and I rewatched Prince Caspian, the movie based on one of the beloved Narnia Chronicles by C.S. Lewis. Afterwards, my daughter exclaimed. “I love that story because it gives me hope.”

Her response reminds me that a number of different genres of writing may be infused with hope.

What was it about the Narnia story that gave my daughter hope? How can we write in order to infuse this generation with Christ’s hope?

Speaking of being a keeper, I am reminded also of lighthouse keepers and the hymn by Philip P. Bliss, Let The Lower Lights Be Burning (1871).

Brightly beams our Father's mercy
From his lighthouse evermore,
But to us he gives the keeping
Of the lights along the shore.

Let the lower lights be burning,
Send a gleam across the wave!
Some poor fainting struggling seaman,
You may rescue, you may save.

Lord, guide our pens today as we work as keepers of your light in this dark world.

Michelle Joy Teigrob lives with her family in Peterborough, Ontario. Her book on grief, Joyfully Star-mapping through Life's Dung-piles, was shortlisted for the 2025 Word Awards. Formerly writing under her married name, Strutzenberger, Michelle is in the process of shifting her writing portfolio to her pen name, Michelle Joy Teigrob.