Why Do We Write?
As a child I loved to write. One of my first prized possessions was a diary…you know the kind, with a lock and key intended to keep your younger sibling from reading your deepest darkest secrets, but so flimsy a squirrel could probably open it. In that diary I wrote my greatest fears, my deepest longings, and my sweetest joys.
I also delighted in writing short stories and essays, pondering the world from an unexperienced young pre-teen and teen perspective. I frequently submitted my pieces to youth writing contests — some I won, some I didn’t. But it didn’t matter because I did it out of a passion to write.
When I went to graduate school, however, I became convinced I couldn’t write, when my graduate school professors beat every ounce of self-esteem out of us, forgetting to build us back up. I quit writing except for what was required for my vocation.
Surprisingly, a few years later I registered for a writer’s retreat (quite ironic for someone who no longer considered herself a writer). While there, one of the instructors had us take 10–15 minutes to go pray and ask God what He wanted us to know before we embarked on our first real writing assignment. As I prayed, I sensed in my heart that God was saying, “You can either continue to believe the lie that others have told you that you can’t write, or you can trust the One who gave you the gift and the desire to write in the first place.”
Talk about a wake-up call and a shift in perspective. From then on, I identified myself as a writer. But I had to ask the important question, “Why do we write?”
Over the next several years, I realized that at least for me, I write out of obedience to God’s call. He instilled in me the talent and the desire to write, but not just for myself, so that I could share with others His faithfulness.
In just about any writing class, instructors will encourage us to “know your reader” so that we can write for those who will read what we have penned. While I understand this notion, and even agree with it to a large extent, when I sit down to write, it is for an audience of One. God is my first and most important audience.
When I write in response to God’s prompting or leading, it is an offering from my heart to Him.
If I write out of obedience to God, and consider Him first in everything I write, then He will ultimately provide the audience who needs to hear my message. That takes so much pressure off, and lets me enjoy the process of crafting words to inspire whomever He leads others to read my work.
Have you ever asked yourself the first and most important question, “Why do you write?” I’d love to hear your thoughts.
For a Free eBook on How to Help a Depressed Loved One, click here: http://drmichellebengtson.com/how-to-help-a-depressed-loved-one-ebook/
For more helpful information about what you need to know when you have a depressed loved one, read here: http://drmichellebengtson.com/10-things-to-know-if-you-have-a-depressed-loved-one/
For more about what not to say to a depressed loved one, read here: http://drmichellebengtson.com/what-not-to-say-when-a-loved-one-is-depressed/ while here are suggestions about supportive things you can say to a depressed loved one: http://drmichellebengtson.com/what-to-say-when-a-loved-one-is-depressed/
Dr. Michelle Bengtson (PhD, Nova Southeastern University) is an international speaker, and the author of best-selling “Hope Prevails: Insights From a Doctor’s Personal Journey Through Depression” and the newly released companion “Hope Prevails Bible Study.” She has been a neuropsychologist for more than twenty years. She is in private practice in Southlake, Texas where she evaluates, diagnoses, and treats children and adults with a variety of medical and mental health disorders. She knows pain and despair firsthand and combines her professional expertise and personal experience with her faith to address issues surrounding medical and mental disorders, both for those who suffer and for those who care for them. She offers sound practical tools, affirms worth, and encourages faith. Dr. Bengtson offers hope as a key to unlock joy and relief — even in the middle of the storm. She and her husband of 30 years have two teenage sons, and reside in the Dallas/Ft. Worth area. She blogs regularly on her own site: http://www.DrMichelleBengtson.com
For more hope, stay connected with me at:
To order Hope Prevails: http://drmichellebengtson.com/hope-prevails-book/
Website: http://www.DrMichelleBengtson.com
Blog: http://drmichellebengtson.com/category/blog/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DrMichelleBengtson
Twitter: http://www.Twitter.com/DrMBengtson (@DrMBengtson)
LinkedIn: http://www.LinkedIn.com/in/DrMichelleBengtson
Google+: http://www.google.com/+MichelleBengtson
Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/drmichellebengtson
Pinterest: http://www.Pinterest.com/Drbhopeprevails
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCn92DHzGSZk8psDb2FKazOQ
To order Hope Prevails from Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Hope-Prevails-Insights-Personal-Depression/dp/080072707X/
