“Come to me, all you who are weary and
burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me,
for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.”—Matthew
11:28, 29 (NIV)
Healing and the Care of Souls
NOTE: My
mention of healing in this message is in reference to emotional or spiritual
healing.
A Personal Ponder
While I prepared this blog
post and for reasons beyond me my writing energy gave way to thoughts about our
InScribe membership. Thoughts I pondered about InScribe Christian Writers’
Fellowship, are the motivation for this post.
Every so often within our
InScribe membership we hear of deaths, illness, or other life changing
experiences. We care for each other especially in these times. Why do we care
so much? We care because InScribe is more than a writer’s group. I hope you
agree with me.
Words Heal
When I ministered as a local
church pastor I recognized a teaching role of the church membership. They
taught me skills like patience, the need for community, and what it means to
listen. They also taught me about my primary expression of how God gifted me to
serve people. This blessed lesson motivated me to redirect my servant heart to
healthcare chaplaincy.
When asked to come alongside
people a good chaplain knows when to use words. Words, if needed, come after we
listen. Words
often heal when we come alongside a hurting soul. In this being the case, we
choose our words with caution.
Write to
Heal
As a pastoral student, I was
taught sermons must be meaningful to the pastor before they are preached for
others. I follow a similar direction as a writer. What I write must be
meaningful to me as a writer before I send it out into the world. What I write
must include words to hopefully bring a sense of healing to those who read
them.
What I write must also be a
respectful and loving reflection on InScribe. I see InScribe as my writing
community, but also a community of care.
I have written for our blog
for several years. When Tracy Schmidt Nagel Krauss, asked me to write for the
blog I felt like my teacher asked me to speak in front of my class. Once my
nerves came back into line, I accepted this great honour.
I give thanks to God and members of InScribe for helping me to develop my voice as a writer. My whole reason to write is summed up in my desire to bring a sense of healing and hope to my readers. Through the encouragement of members of InScribe I also developed the tagline for my writing. I write as one, “Touched by grief, yet held by hope.”
Healing Words of Care for Our
InScribe Family
One’s physical presence in
coming alongside a person who suffers, may bring healing, at least in the
moment. As a chaplain I witnessed healing in the context of serious illness or
the dying process. Such healing may come in the form of holding hands, a gentle
touch on a loved one’s forehead, or a quiet whisper like, “It’s okay darling,
you can go now, I’ll be alright.”
If geographical distance is
not a challenge, we, as members of InScribe can chat with each other at a coffee
shop or ice cream store. We can meet at a park and share a picnic lunch. We can
come alongside each other at times of personal or family health crisis. We can
hold each other’s hands to let each other know we are not alone. If you are a
hugger like me, we can comfort each other with a hug. If words miss the mark
even as writers, our physical presence may speak volumes.
On the other hand, perhaps
physical presence is not always possible. Members of InScribe are often
separated by miles, but we can still show we care. We can put our words into
action through such tools as emails, letters, phone calls, post cards,
Messenger, and social media platforms.
Perhaps even now, this minute,
there may be a reason to reach out to an InScribe family member. Don’t wait, do
it now.
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Alan lives in Deroche, B.C. with his wife, Terry, and their poodle, Charlie. He contributed stories to Good Grief People by Angel Hope Publishing, 2017; Story by Story: The Power of a Writer, Unstoppable Writers Publishing, 2018; Easter Stories & More by InScribe Christian Writers’ Fellowship, 2021. He is currently working on a book expressing the grief of grieving grandparents entitled “Hidden Poetic Voices: A Reflective Work of Grief, Faith, and Poetry.” Alan periodically writes articles for FellowScript Magazine. He has written posts for our InScribe blog since 2015. Blog: https://scarredjoy.ca.
