Pigeons Versus Substack by Michelle Joy Teigrob

 

Sometimes I wish I lived in the days when communication over long distances involved quietly scratching a note on a scrap of paper and attaching it to the skinny leg of a homing pigeon. After checking that the note was secure, you’d lean your head back while the pigeon flapped upwards.

As you shielded your eyes against the sun’s brilliance and a light breeze brushed your cheek, you’d watch your bird head to the sky. You’d clasp your hands together, praying said bird and the note made it to their destination a few miles away by nightfall.

Now, I can take all of 30 seconds to tap a note on my phone or computer. I can trust that the note will arrive at its destination thousands of miles across country or world in the same amount of time – 30 seconds give or take a few.

I joined Substack not too long ago after fellow InScribe member, Alan Anderson, introduced me to it. A long foregoer of all things social media, I decided to make the leap after gathering that this platform is designed especially for writers who enjoy long-form material (I realize that isn’t necessarily always the case and the platform is evolving, but that’s the story I went with).

At first, I felt very anxious about Substack – as all social media tends to make me. I think it’s the wildness of it all. Like the old west, social media seems to be all about every person for herself. Rules and structure appear very minimal. And there’s a lot of noise. Hundreds of voices constantly call, read me, read me, look at me, listen to me.

Social media has always held a very different vibe from what I imagine a quiet afternoon attaching a note to a homing pigeon would be like.

But I prayed, “Lord, if I’m supposed to be on Substack, guide me and give me peace.”

And then I took a step.

And another step.

I decided that even if the system itself appeared to have little structure and rules, I could create my own. I came up with a simple, loosely structured, daily routine for sharing and engaging.

I also very quickly discovered that, based on the folks I connected with initially, the platform can be full of lovely, encouraging people! I have enjoyed more than a few deep and wonderful conversations and connections that I would never have imagined possible – especially on social media.

I look forward to scrolling through the Substack notes, an astonishing number of them Bible-aligned, encouraging, convicting, and life-giving.

Substack may not always be the platform for me. But, for right now, I’m trusting it’s where I need to be with respect to my writing ministry.

Do I still long for the days of communication over long distances when all I needed was a calm sunlit afternoon, a bird, and a writing utensil?

Of course.

But I wasn’t born in those days.

For that reason, I need to make the most of what I’ve been given now. I need to redeem the time, while I still have it.

Thus, for now at least, Substack it is.

Michelle Joy Teigrob blogs on Substack and at michellejoybooks.ca. Her mission is to share true stories and articles from a heart seared by this message after being shattered by the deaths of 3 sisters: In the end, one thing will remain above all.