With every day that goes by

With every day that goes by, I know more and more that I want to be a writer. But not just any writer. No sir. I want to be a writer with a purpose. I want to be someone who speaks truth and helps people. Two days ago I e-mailed a few columnists from the Seattle Times to see if I could meet up with them for coffee sometime and talk journalism. I know that it’s pretty much impossible to become a columnist at my age, but at least I can get my foot in the door by making friends.
Last Friday I went to the 2005 Dart Awards. (Those are the awards for excellence in reporting on victims of violence.) It’s soooo amazing what those people do. Reporting on situations involving violence of that magnitude is extremely hard. I had a hard time just writing obituaries. There were several journalists (print and broadcast) that reported on the Tsunami and came back completely different people. While I admire them, I’m not sure I’d ever have the guts to do what they do. But that’s an example of the kind of writing I’m talking about, the kind that moves people to understand things (new things or the same things in a different way), the kind that changes people and inspires action toward a good cause. It’s the kind that people cut out and post on their cubical wall or scrapbook as a point of reference in an album. It’s the kind that is used as an example in an any classroom. There are many pieces I’ve read that have moved and changed me (besides the Bible of course). I want to write that kind, the kind that matter.
I think of people like Hal Bernton, Annie Dillard, C.S. Lewis, Alice Walker, Anne Lamott, Rick Bragg, Anne Hull, Thomas French, Ira Glass. I could go on. These are my heroes, my examples; perhaps even my place holders. These are the people whose shoes I long to fill. But, is this where the Lord is leading me? I have this skill, but is it the brush that I’m supposed to use in helping to paint His greater picture?

I think I’m getting ambitious. Or am I being called?

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2 Responses to “With every day that goes by”

  1. propheceye says:

    I think I’m getting ambitious. Or am I being called?
    It’s always been my impression that with questions like these, if you have to ask, you probably don’t want to know the answer.
    At the same time though, if you believe that God gave you the ability to write well, then why would he not expect you to use that skill to the fullest? It’s like giving a soldier a gun and then the soldier wondering if she should do what she has been trained to do for years or perhaps drop everything and go make brownies.
    mmmm brownies….

  2. You have a gift! I am pretty sure you are being called sweetie!

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