One of my high school English teachers introduced me to my
favourite faith writing mentor. She doesn’t know she did because it was an inadvertent
introduction. You see, my English teacher awarded me with a bookstore gift
certificate because I was a studious student who loved words. Reading them.
Writing them.
So I was delighted to cash in my certificate as I walked
across the wood floors of the local bookshop that was located in an old brick
building downtown.
Although the first book I read of this beloved author was a
novel, I later went on to read her books about faith. Her writing gave me
glimpses of her journals as she shared from the heart. This author’s words
helped me become more intimate in my conversations with the Lord. She
introduced me to the blessing of praying about big and small details in my life
and in the lives of those I love.
Faith permeated her heart, her journals, her books, and her
life.
This author became my mentor as I wrote at my desk under an
ocean view window in the beach house we rented. For my newlywed husband and I had
said yes to an adventure that pulled us away from our hometown and planted us
in the middle of a northern coastal village.
While missing my friends back home, faith writing became the
passion that comforted and filled me as I read books and wrote in my journal.
Because I was a new writer and a new Christian, much of what I wrote wasn’t
worth quoting. But even faith writers have to write a bunch of rubbish before
anything worth sharing glitters.
And I can’t help but believe my decades of filling up
journals will one day birth a gift in me that can be shared with other
believers.
In case you haven’t guessed which author I’m referring to,
here’s a giveaway hint: she wrote Christy.
Have you read any of Catherine Marshall’s
nonfiction books? I’m nosey-to-know. Which writer has been a mentor to you?
P.S. I wonder if my high school teacher prayed for me to
choose an inspirational book; because, years later, I discovered she was a
Christian. Maybe it wasn’t an inadvertent introduction after all.
Faith Blessings ~ Wendy Mac
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.
