As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another. Proverbs 27:17
I was seventeen, and a young Christian when the church I was attending had a messy split. At that time, the rest of my family weren’t worshiping anywhere, so I changed churches. I was young in my faith, and I remember feeling confused and alone, but I had a praying grandmother (Nanna)and God regularly brought to my mind her often-repeated words. ‘Carolyn, always pray.’
I am reminded of your sincere faith, a faith that dwelt first in your grandmother Lois … and now, I am sure, dwells in you. 2 Tim: 1:5
Nanna’s favourite verse was ‘pray without ceasing’ (1 Thes 5:17). At the time I wasn’t completely sure what that meant, but I decided it couldn’t hurt, so I followed her example and prayed. ‘Lord where I should go.’
The church I joined would prove to be pivotal in growing the next season of my faith and teaching me important lessons. I had previously coasted along at my old church. I’d gone to Friday night Youth Group and Sunday morning services but there was little fruit in my life. In fact, there was a great divide between my faith and my actions, yet God in His grace was faithful to me and wouldn’t let me go.
Have you ever felt like that? Alone, yet held?
I found a new church, and they welcomed me into their Young Adults group. I was thirsty for connection and began to attend every church function I could fit around my university schedule. I loved singing in the choir and teaching Sunday School; I helped organise our Youth events and even joined the pastoral care team for our High Schoolers. I was hardly home, except to eat and sleep. I was busy, busy, busy but deep down I wasn’t happy. There was an itch in my soul that I couldn’t reach—God was teaching me an important life lesson.
Busyness is not next to Godliness.
Yet… God is faithful and in my experience He always provides. Always.
I was approached by the parents of one of the Sunday School girls I taught. This couple usually came on Youth Camps—we called them Mr and Mrs F. They were around my parent’s age, but they weren’t ‘rich’ or ‘cool’, they didn’t have high paying jobs or drive flashy cars, yet I was drawn to them and their capacity to care. They knew I didn’t have much family support, so they took me under their wing and listened to me, and when I had a problem, they prayed with me. They invited me to their weekly Bible Study, they fed me, both physically and spiritually; put simply, they loved me. I didn’t know it at the time, but they were following Jesus’ words in the Great Commission—they were preaching (and living) the gospel, and in the process, they made me a disciple.
Mr and Mrs F. taught me that love is a verb. God’s love should change us. We are created to grow and to change, and that includes how we approach life and learning.
Albert Einstein famously said, ‘Once you stop Learning, you start Dying’.
I wonder, do you approach your writing with learning in mind? Are you called to write, and write from a faith perspective? What things do you have in place to grow your craft?
In my teens I’d written songs and poems and stories but then came university; it was there I discovered my love for writing essays. I believed I could write. Yet when I attended my first writer’s conference, it became painfully obvious that I still had much to learn about writing. God created us to learn and keep on learning.
We bloom best in community, so I actively sought out a group of like-minded writers. I found a mentor—someone further along in the journey. Surrounding yourself with people who can impart spiritual wisdom, and practical knowledge will ensure you thrive in life. If you’ve never had a mentor, can I encourage you to pray and seek God for one? My grandmother was my first mentor and there have been countless others along the way. Be open to learning, glean from godly people and put into practice the concepts you learn.
The things I’ve learnt:
Read.
• Read your Bible.
• Read other books, both in and out of your genre.
• Read books on the craft of writing.
• Study what you’ve read.
• Pray over what you’ve learnt.
• Listen to podcasts.
• Attend conferences.
• Join a writer’s group.
• Ask God how the learning applies to your life and your writing.
Proverbs 1:7 reminds us: ‘The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction.’