Blowing the dust off the blog! There is quite a lot of dust in this little corner of the blogosphere but today I am forcing myself to roll up my writing sleeves and get to work.
My mum once shared a top cleaning tip with me that she had learned from an older friend when she was younger. If a room has become so messy that it puts you off from even starting, the thing to do is set a timer for twenty minutes and work for just that small amount of time. Then walk away from the mess. After another while, go back into the room and you should find that the task is not quite as overwhelming as before, your twenty minutes of work has made a difference.
So this is my intention today. One small blog post. You need to start somewhere, right?
There are various reasons why it's been so quiet here at New Pebbles. The biggest reason being the amount of time taken up by a course I was doing at college. It took over life way more than I expected but there is now a certificate making it's way into my possession next month and boy do I feel I have earned it!
Another reason is that writing with any regularity takes up time which is stating the obvious but it's not just about putting together the words, it's posting it here to the blog site and sharing links on social media. That may sound easy and straightforward but let me assure you that it is not. In my experience, doing the pen and paper part of writing is often the easiest part! The computer related stuff drives me crazy and is very off-putting.
Not only that, and here I'm being uncomfortably honest, the thought does frequently cross my mind that this amount of effort isn't really worth it considering that just a handful of people will probably read it. No high spiritual ideals at work there!
However there are other reasons too, more complicated reasons that I struggle to put into words. Reasons to do with vulnerability and the struggle of sharing your work with others, reasons to do with lack of direction or knowing what to even write about, reasons to do with fear and insecurity.
I started writing one day and despite having no experience whatsoever, submitted work to Woman Alive, The Upper Room and ACW and they accepted it! It all got published! You'd think that would be an amazing motivation to write and write and write some more. God does indeed want me to write so let's go, is what you might assume would be the obvious reaction. Not so it seems.
Despite having always harboured a secret ambition to be a writer, despite sensing the push of the Holy Spirit, despite seeing what he can do with the efforts of a novice worker of words, I've retreated.
If I'm honest...again...I got a bit scared. I got tired of being brave.
I wrote a poem recently for my younger son Joel, who's eleven and about to start secondary school in September. It's about being brave. I wanted to encourage him to think about what it is that makes us brave and how we can face the challenge of hard things in life.
Turned out to be not just for him but for me as well and maybe it's for you too.
Small steps and daily grace blow away the dust.
FOR JO, ON TURNING 11
Being brave is not about
Living without fear.
It's not about pretending
And making it appear
That you don't have a single doubt,
That you have full control.
You don't have to act as if
This life is but a stroll,
You don't have to whistle
Or be the one who dares,
You don't have to laugh it off
As one who has no cares.
Being brave is not about
Believing in the lie,
That strength is just available
To those who never cry.
Here's what I think being brave
Is really all about,
It's listening to the voice that whispers,
Not to those that shout.
It's hearing, 'courage, dear heart'
In the middle of the squall,
Believing when he tells you
That he will not let you fall.
Being brave is all about
Experiencing the fear,
Not waiting for the feelings
To simply disappear.
It's stepping up and doing
All the hard and scary stuff,
Not knowing how it will turn out
Or if you'll be enough.
Being brave is all about
Believing in God's plan,
Trusting that the one who knows
Holds you in his hand.
Bravery's a decision,
A choice you make each day.
Oh and no matter how you're feeling,
Don't forget to pray!
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