Learning in the Shadow of Two Elizabeths ~ Valerie Ronald

                                  

When I decided to base this month’s blog post on two authoresses who are significant “shadow mentors” to me as a writer, I was delighted to find a yet unread book by one of them. Elizabeth Goudge, a prolific British authoress born at the turn of the 20th century, has long been the classic novelist I return to again and again. Described by biographer, S. Gower, as “fragile in appearance, but strong in spirit, she seemed at one with the peace and simplicity of her setting. Few novelists have had comparable knowledge and faith in the goodness of human nature, the beauty of childhood, and the pursuit of things lovely and of good report. ” ¹ 

I have a lovingly curated collection of her books, most out of print now, but this one I did not yet own. I began reading “The Little White Horse” with the goal of observing what it is about her writing that inspires me. Instead, I found myself totally drawn into this captivating children’s tale replete with magical settings, vivid characters and deep wisdom beyond its intended audience. My daily routine was set aside as I lost myself in another rich world created by my favorite storyteller.

It did not surprise me that even though written for children, the book contained layers of piquant wisdom woven seamlessly throughout its pages; glimpses of providence fulfilled, good triumphant over evil, animals and nature showing the way. There is a goodness which inevitably leaves its mark on my heart after I read a book by Elizabeth Goudge. I come away believing that hope can still be found in the timeless corners of the world and in the hearts of those who live in her stories. Her books satisfy my yearning for the mysticism of old legends and folklore, yet they are founded on the truth of Christianity. Jesus walks every page of her books without being named, for He shines in the eyes of innocent children and beasts, He paints the natural world with strokes of love and beauty, and He speaks through the struggles and fortitude of characters who strive to do the right thing.

This theme running through Elizabeth Goudge’s writing is what I want to emulate; to soak my stories and words with the love of Jesus without preaching. My goal is to weave His essence throughout my stories, to evoke a deep inner response in a reader’s heart toward the good. Elizabeth Goudge’s books are peopled with believable characters demonstrating their simple faith by living outward-looking lives, desiring the greater good of others rather than focusing on themselves. She does this through enchanting tales so beautifully told, the reader hardly realizes they are being taught how to live well.

“Christmas was like a star fallen down upon the earth, a miraculous thing. If you were paying proper attention to it, you were so astonished that you couldn’t pay attention to anything else.” ~ from Gentian Hill, by Elizabeth Goudge

I discovered the writing of Elisabeth Elliot when I read her first book soon after I became a believer. Through Gates of Splendor is a first-hand account of the deaths of her husband, Jim Elliot, and four fellow missionaries, at the hands of a primitive Ecuadorian tribe in 1955. I would venture to say this classic missionary story is the most well-known of its genre in Christian literature. Elisabeth candidly chronicles not only the gripping events surrounding the tragedy, but the overarching narrative of the individual and corporate motivation of the five missionaries. The impact of this incident could not have resounded around the world as it did if not for her careful yet heart-rending account of its details and repercussions. She tells her own deeply personal story as well as those of the other missionary widows, with unwavering faith and reliance upon God, even in the face of such tragic loss. This book opened my eyes to the power of fine writing to move the heart and spur a life of faith on towards the call of God. I have seen the results of such influence in my own family.

My husband’s brother sold his successful vegetable farm to become a missionary to indigenous people in the north of Manitoba. He had this quote by Jim Elliot posted prominently in his workshop. “He is no fool to lose what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose.” One dark night flying home from visiting an isolated reserve, the plane he was piloting crashed, killing him and his fellow missionary. His life was influenced by, and in many ways, paralleled the life of Jim Elliot.

Elisabeth Elliot’s literary eloquence, fitting to the era in which she wrote, taught me much about using precise words and carefully chosen descriptions to convey truth. I continued to read many of her books as her literary career flourished, and I must admit, I did not always enjoy them. Not because they were not finely crafted prose, rather, their content was at times like a bucket of cold water jolting awake my often flagging spiritual walk. As I learned from her, I grew to appreciate Elisabeth’s straightforward, refreshing encouragements on how to live in a way honoring to God. The wisdom stemming from her own severe trials and how she faced them gave me much to ponder. My trials have been different yet I have learned and grown through this wise “shadow mentor”, how God can use tragedies and trials to draw others to Himself.

"Peace is as infectious as panic. If my soul is quietly at rest in God, then others will share my peace, because I share His." ~ Elisabeth Elliot


¹ Gower 2001 p153 The World of Elizabeth Goudge Periwinkle Pub. ISBN 0954201507

More of Valerie's writing can be read on her blog   https://scriptordeus.wordpress.com

Shadow Mentors by Steph Beth Nickel

Think of the top 10 people, excluding biblical characters, who have dramatically influenced your life for the better.

How many of them do you know personally?

When I read this month’s topic, “Shadow Mentors,” the first person who came to mind was Max Lucado. It may have been my mom who introduced me to his books when I was in my teens, 40 or so years ago.

I remember reading No Wonder They Call Him the Savior and concluding, “He’s a poet who writes in prose.”

I rarely reread books. (There are just so many I want to read!) I have, however, read and reread On the Anvil. It’s probably time to do so again, come to think of it.

Although I’ve given away hundreds of books over the years, I still have several of Max Lucado’s books on both my physical and virtual shelves.

Will we ever meet this side of heaven? Doubtful. But he is definitely one of my shadow mentors.

What have I learned from this Max Lucado? Among other things …

·         It’s important to pursue God’s call on your life.

·         All author’s have a unique voice.

·         God gifts us in different ways but calls all believers to make Jesus known.

·         Just because we reach a certain age doesn’t mean we should set aside our calling. (It also doesn’t mean we can’t pursue it with fresh clarity and commitment.)

·         We can write for both adults and children.

·         Not all books that have a powerful impact will show up in Bible college classrooms.

·         And on a related note, just because a book focusses on joy and positivity doesn’t mean it isn’t rich in spiritual truth.

·         Lastly, our best writing points readers to the Word.

I’m sure I’ve learned other “big picture lessons” from this author as well, but these are a few of them that encourage my heart.

I’m called to come alongside those the Lord brings into my life. As Christians, we all are in one way or another.

As writers, we have the unique opportunity of putting ourselves in a position to become shadow mentors for others, those we may never meet in person, those we may never interact with in any way.

How can we position ourselves to become shadow mentors for some of our readers?  

Develop our unique writer’s voice. We may say something in a way that resonates in a way no writer ever has. (In my experience, what often stands out to me is something in the middle of a paragraph, something that hasn’t been highlighted as what Lysa Terkeurst calls “a sticky statement.”)

Don’t forget authors are not the only writers who have a big impact on people’s lives. Sometimes, it’s a blog post or a Facebook comment.

Never stop developing writing skills.

Read. Read. And read some more. It develops our knowledge base and hones our skills even when we’re not reading for these specific purposes.

Never stop growing spiritually.

We ought to pray for our readers. God just may use our words to impact them in a way we never imagined.

Help, I need Somebody! – Ramona Heikel

What do bakers, dog-trainers, doctors, cooks, crane operators and The Beetles have in common?  They need somebody to help. To come alongside, as in…an apprenticeship!  So what about us writers, how about an apprenticeship for us?

I have run across a few instances of writing apprenticeships, but they are random and rare.  Some schools consider an MFA (Master of Fine Arts) to be an apprenticeship. (Have you had experience with an MFA?)

An apprentice is one who is learning by practical experience under a master, and I haven’t had a master author walk with me through these many years, guiding my writing. However, my writing apprenticeship has consisted of a variety of helpers: mentors in writing courses I’ve taken, successful authors in writing and critique groups I attended each month, and authors who write books and blogs devoted to writing skills.

             

Last fall I signed up for an online spiritual writing retreat with author Vinita Hampton Wright. Through this group “mentorship” and one of the exercises, I made a discovery; it was good news and bad news. I realized I have a tendency to write when I'm excited, but when the excitement wears off I stop working. I love the enthusiastic part of the idea process and that initial burst of putting my original thoughts and explorations down on a page. But often, when I go back to it, the novelty has worn off and I have lost momentum and motivation.  Because of this bad habit, I have many pieces I have started and abandoned.  I am ashamed to admit this because it seems rather childish and undisciplined, but I have to hope that simply realizing this after so many years of writing is a step forward!

My advice to a new writer, especially one who is juggling many other responsibilities, would be that your apprenticeship very realistically could take 10 years or even more. During this time, you shouldn’t assume you are going to write a best-seller, or even anything publishable.  Seriously consider getting a writing coach, which may be the closest thing to an apprenticeship. This is the route that I would have taken, had I realized that I would be spinning my wheels and wasting a lot of valuable time by trying to "do it myself."  (And it’s not too late. I am looking for one, so if any of you readers are coaches, or can recommend one, let me know.)

  

As I think about having help along the writing journey, it makes me think about how much help we have on our life journey.  Jesus is the Master who walked alongside his apprentices, allowed them to get to know him and watch him work, and demonstrated how to live life.  And after he finished his work on earth, he left another helper, our own one-on-one mentor, the Holy Spirit.  He knew we'd "need somebody, not just anybody."  I marvel that we are so important to him, that we “merit” his constant companionship!

Posted by Ramona

www.happilywriting.com

Photo credits:

A shoe repairman and his young apprentice, Apprenticeship, Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apprenticeship; Road to Emmaus, Bloor Lansdowne Christian Fellowship,  https://bloorlansdownechristianfellowship.files.wordpress.com/2015/05/road_to_emmaus.jpg

Who Started It All For Your Creative Spirit? By Sandi Somers

Prompt: Who started lighting the fire for your creative spirit and inspired you to write? How old were you? Tell us about the person who pointed the way for you and helped form you as a writer of faith. It could be a person you knew, or it could be an author you read. Tell us about the impact and why that impact mattered.

Catherine Marshall (1914-1983)

Spiritual Mentor

I first read Catherine Marshall’s books as a young adult, books such Beyond Ourselves and Something More, as well as her first novel, Christy.  

Her writing fed into my starved spirit a deeper intimacy with Jesus and God’s power. I read her books again and again. Her discussion on themes such as inner healing, guidance, and the work of the Holy Spirit, challenged me to believe God in ways I had never before imagined.

Literary Mentor

At the same time, Marshall’s powerful writing inspired me to write vividly. She told powerful stories of people and their faith and I studied how she integrated story with God’s action in the lives of people.

I particularly benefitted from the way she discovered spiritual themes.

As she began writing a biography of her husband, A Man Called Peter, she asked herself, “Why am I writing this book? What am I trying to accomplish?”

Immediately she knew that the hero of the biography had to be Jesus Christ, not Peter Marshall. “Jesus Christ would have to tower as the central figure of the book,” she wrote. “I saw that the life of no human being has lasting significance apart from his relationship to God. “

As a result, she asked herself two questions about each chapter:

·        What is the theme, the cohesive idea?

·        What will this chapter tell people about God that they really want to know?

The impact of her book was astronomic. Thousands were led to experience God in a new way. Many people wrote how God spoke directly into their particular needs.

While I have had other literary mentors since then, Catherine Marshall’s example also paved the way for me to ask God specifically to:

·        Confirm that my writing projects would be according to His plans.

·        Bring the right people into my life at the right time to implement components of the dream.

·        Fill me with His words to touch the lives of those in my generation and in the next.

Like Marshall, I claimed the verses in 1 John 5:14-15.

 This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us.  And if we know that he hears us—whatever we ask—we know that we have what we asked of him.

Now it’s your turn. Let us know about the one who inspired you.