God created man
in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them..
Genesis 1:27 (NASB95)
(whom do you write for? why do you do what you do?)
I had every intention
of participating in FMF
today,
particularly after last week. However, during my morning prayers/AM
exercise/dog walk, something came into my head that had to get out. It wasn’t what I’d planned to write, and that
may be part of it. I don’t plan to write. It comes, and then has to get out-whispered
words from The Universe that must be shared. Here goes… (Dedicated to and
inspired by CD, with profound gratitude)
Yesterday
I had a long conversation with a wise and generous stranger, whom I pray will
become a mentor and friend, about my writing. She challenged me to think about
to whom and for whom I write. A logical and straightforward question; one posed
often by writers to broaden their reach, enlarge their territory, strike it
rich. Who is your audience? You
should know who reads your words if you want them to do so regularly, embracing
your efforts, supporting your endeavors, be friends, subscribers, people who
buy your books. My answer wasn’t quite
what I anticipated. You see, I write for
me.
Who
am I? I am an American woman (African-American). I married my first love nearly 20 years ago,
and am fortunate to have brought forth and raised with him two extraordinary
people (our daughter and son) who changed our lives and will change the world.
At nearly 50 I have a living mother and grandmother, and though my father died nearly
15 years ago, he still looms large and hovers close, as his guiding spirit
informs my writing. Dad, even now, I measure words with you in mind.
Who
am I? There is an essay or a book on that very subject which I will never write,
because for all that I reveal I am perfectly content to be a bit of a cipher,
among other things. (By the way, there
is an essay or book for everyone who has ever asked the question, Who am I?
It’s so not about me.) But as to the question, who am I? I am flawed and frail,
but made in the Perfect Image of God. I write for everybody (me).
It
then occurred to me along this prayerexercisedogwalk, that God is our mirror.
Wikipedia defines mirror as something which “reflects light or sound in a way
that preserves much of its original.” Mirrors do not change (nor does
God) but what we bring to mirrors (physically, spiritually) greatly informs the
images we see. Our images in the mirror will change over time, but the mirror
never will. Believing that we were created in the image of God, we are all the
same. That’s why I write (for me). I
write for God.
CD,
when and if you’re reading this, know that I am off to develop a marketing plan,
and to think more about how to do what I’d like to do next. And finally, know
that I am forever indebted to you for the good you put into the Universe in my
direction. I will pay if forward.
Yesterday
I had a long conversation with a wise and generous stranger. She blessed and
challenged me. I am excited and encouraged; renewed. Now I have to figure out
how to get my words in front of the people I’d like to read them. To embrace
them. To be transformed by them, as they
transform me. I’ve got a lot to do, and that “having a lot to do” is today’s
lesson. Today’s evidence that God is
Good.
Today I am praying and playing with
Sandra Heska King in StillSaturday...