You Never Know About Some People

Sometimes I just take life for granted - roll with the punch when something goes wrong and celebrate the good things when they happen. Some people have wild swings when stuff happens good or bad. But sometimes we tend to take people who write religious things for granted - because we sometimes perceive them as having a deeper faith than we do - therefore I, for example, tend to experience a gap between me and them. After all, God has given them a special gift.


I always perceived people who write for Guideposts (and other faith-based literature) as having a deeper,more personal relationship with God and I envied them.
For instance, I visualized the Editor of Guideposts Magazine as having led a solid spiritual life and thus was preordained to go into the ministry. The above book tells an altogether different story. Edward Grinnon went through terrible times in his life - times that hardly equated with a Christian ministry of sharing hope with the millions of people who read Guideposts. His new book is a frank exposition of a life way down in the pits - one that might have killed him. Yet, he was led to a new and productive - and inspiring - life. I'd like to compare it to Paul's Damascus Road experience. It was a book so intense I virtually read it in one sitting. Likewise, I commend it to everyone I meet.


Beyond that, he also was the author of a small book titled "101 Moments of Hope" which came as a gift with the purchase of the other book. When he was asked to write a devotional thought the first time he protested saying it wasn't his thing to do.
But his boss said write about life - write about your own life - and though he protested at first, he came up with something about a disagreement he and his wife were experiencing. Somehow the solution involved making guacamole. Turns out he left something out and he believed it a failure. His wife pointed out he had the materials at hand and together they resolved the guacamole problem, and together solved the personal tension they had contended with. Thus it became evident that personal things in life can become the basis of short thoughts about contending with - and perhaps celebrating - life. So, To me, the message is that everyone has a story to tell. Something that might bless someone else who might be struggling with a tension in their own lives.


One of our sons has said, a number of times over the years, that he would like to do some writing but complains that it never seems to come out right no matter how much editing he might do. I had an uncle the same way. They felt what they wrote had to be perfect. However, I've discovered the joy of writing is not perfection. The joy is in just letting feelings and experiences pour out and not dwelling on structure or gramatical perfection. Thus, writing has become enjoyable. I'll never make a million but I'll have a million dollars worth of fun as I write.


Let me offer a word of encouragement -check out these books - they will open your eyes and inner being to a new and simple sense of wonder and marvel in another person's life.


Thank you Edward Grinnan, for reinforcing my belief that writing can be fun - and life can be fun - so long as I don't try to be something I'm not.