I
considered my writing goals for 2019 in late Nov. 2018. In early Dec. my
“goals” took on a more personal and sobering nature. Once we entered this New
Year I revised my goals to make them more realistic for what I believe I can
accomplish.
I believe
in goals, of course, but I leave room in my mind for the unexpected, for life
twists, for those experiences causing me to review my “goals.” In this context
the beautiful words of 2Corinthians: 4:16-18 encourages me to embrace why I
write.
“So we do not lose heart. Though our outer nature is wasting away, our
inner nature is being renewed every day. For this slight momentary affliction
is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, because
we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen; for
the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are
eternal.”
I write to
reach the hearts of people. When life wears a person down causing them to be
weary and heavy laden there is still hope. There are still those things
“unseen,” an eternal goal to lead our way.
As I
entered 2019 I did so with a weary heart. A woman I admired was dying. Although
I never had the privilege of meeting her in person I loved who she was. She
devoted her life to coming alongside people who were dying and teaching others
how to do this. I loved her writing, her teaching and her down to earth
approach to the compassionate care of people.
She died on
Jan. 18 and I wrote a memorial to her on Jan. 19 in my blog ScarredJoy. Writing
this blog post became an immediate goal for me. I share this excerpt with you.
“It was an odd sensation one day
early in Dec. 2018. I planned on sending an email to Dr. Megory Anderson of the
Sacred Dying Foundation in San Francisco. We exchanged emails every so often
since I enrolled in her Sacred Dying Vigil Training in 2015. Before I composed
my email message I noticed heart-wrenching words on the Sacred Dying Facebook
group page. Megory suffered a massive stroke and was receiving comfort care at
a hospital in San Francisco” (Anderson, Alan, “Megory: Loved & Missed, https://scarredjoy.ca, WordPress, Jan. 19.
2019)
Megory’s
devastating stroke then her death caused me to reevaluate the writing goals I
had laid. It sounds a bit odd to phrase it this way, but it is true. My writing
comes from my heart of being with people during difficult times in their lives.
It was natural for me to reconsider my writing goals in a heartfelt way. My
goals have to be meaningful and make a lasting difference in the lives of real
people. This is my hope for any writing goal I have.
As a writer
who is a Christian I have eternity in my heart in my writing. I have come
alongside many people facing the end of their lives. People of all kinds of
backgrounds and beliefs. People who suffered momentary afflictions and were
aware of this. They died with unseen eternal things to look forward to.
As writers
who have eternity in common we can make a difference in the lives of our
readers. We can also encourage each other in our writing goals. Let us not lose
heart in spite of knowing “our outer nature is wasting away.” We have an
eternal goal in mind. It is a precious goal we look toward.
