"When you discover in yourself something that is a gift from God, you have to claim it and not let it be taken away from you."
So says that modern hero of the faith, Henri Nouwen. And these words -- words that should excite, inspire, spur on -- these words scare the shit out of me.
Over the Christmas holiday, I had a long, rich conversation with my sister, dad, and aunt. We walked for hours through the terrain of growing up: setting goals, treating yourself thoughtfully and with care, loving others well, letting go of contempt.
I like writing. I am good at writing, and I want to do more of it. It is a gift from God, and I will not let my fear (so much fear!) stop me. Not this year, or the next, or this day. I will claim it and not let it be taken away from me.
That's all.
2 comments:
I am glad you want to write. You can genetically, of course, because your father has written many good books. I am his editor at Zondervan. I do want to change the subject, however. I have been meaning to comment on your wonderful article on the Hermeneutics website in October--because I am also a PK. I don't think I had quite the freedom you were given, but I did have a basically positive experience. See the foreword I was allowed to write for a book I edited. It is PK: Helping Kids through Their Identity Crisis, by Cameron Lee. Jim Ruark, Senior Editor-at-Large
Jim,
Thanks for your comments -- it is neat to hear from you, and encouraging to strike out on my own now apart from my parents. I really enjoyed connecting with other pastors' kids because of that Hermeneutics article, and I am anxious to read the book (and foreword!) that you mentioned. Hope my dad isn't giving you too much trouble at Zondervan.
Laura
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