Today, I am thankful for writing. My husband Tom has never thought of himself as a writer, yet he loves to challenge and stretch himself to get his thoughts on paper. I have always considered myself an excellent writer, yet I find myself very resistant to the consistent discipline of putting my thoughts down daily. Hmmm...
A couple nights ago, Tom and I were evaluating this strange thing called writing. Why is it so hard, especially when the content is so important? Why do some love it and others despise it? Why is there such a universal draw to put our words down on paper? I am highly verbal, and I throw thoughts out like bullets from a shotgun. They hit their target just about as randomly, too. Tom is much more reserved, sometimes refraining from saying things he wishes he had.
We decided that one of the most important benefits we have both realized from writing is that it forces us to define how we really think and feel about things. When I sit down to type, it requires a shift in perspective that takes me outside my little universe. This accomplishes two things. First, I am forced to assume the perspective of the reader, rather than my own. Secondly, it reveals the holes in my processing where I have perhaps skipped a particularly difficult aspect of thought simply because it is easier to brush over in the spoken word.
So today I am thankful for writing. To perpetuate the benefits of writing, I try to write on this blog as often as possible. In addition, I am in the process of writing about the most traumatic event in my life. I have thought about this event almost every day since it happened. I have talked about this event countless times with the people closest to me. Yet, as I try to write about it, deep-seated fears and unresolved pain are surfacing. Until I could see the words in black and white, reading and re-reading them, I had no idea these hole in my healing even existed.
I am so thankful to have the outlet of writing as a part of my journey of self-discovery, healing, and self-improvement. Thank you, Lord, for all the ways you reveal your Truth to me!!
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