Write

The last few days have been wonderful.  I finished the second draft of my book, and was finally able to get it into the hands of a few people to read through it, give me some feedback, so that I can give it one more edit before pursuing publishing.  A huge piece of me feels fulfilled.  

Starting back from the time of being a child, I have had stories floating in my head.  If I take it back further than stories, what I have had is an insatiable desire to share.  When I felt something great, I wanted to share it.  Sometimes this has been something to overcome not celebrate, but for the most part, it has been a blessing.  That longing to have other people share in the things that have brought me joy, that have moved me, has never let me go.  

Now looking back, I see the tie in everything I have done.  It has all been to tell stories.  Video, photography, film, music, drawing, all of it was there to try and share those wonderful things that I have experienced, to hopefully make people emote.  

Writing has been an answer to over a decade of prayer.  Back in the early years of high school, I would yearn to write, to share the stories that were slowly piling up in my head.  Yet, I was unable.  I was too impatient, too ADD.  I would write a page, maybe less, then get bored with writing as a process, and quit.  This happened again and again.  So, I would beg God to give me the patience and focus necessary to write, that I might be able to enjoy Him in such a manner.  

After a few years of trying unsuccessfully to write, I moved on to more immediate story telling mediums.  Video was much quicker.  I could set things up and go.  I didn't have to spend hours finding the right words to describe someone, I just stuck them in front of a camera.  However, the problem I ran into with video and film is this... that you need a whole lot of help.  Watch the credits for the Lord of the Rings movies.  It takes almost as much time to finish them as it does the movie.  Half of New Zealand helped.  In order to create the stories I saw in my head, I would have to have millions upon millions of dollars of help.  

Photography is a wonderful, and I will always do it, but it is too momentary for me.  I love the moments, and they do speak loudly, but their narrative is one almost entirely of suggestion.

So, I celebrate something immense.  God has answered my prayers.  I begged Him to make me a man who could write a book, tell a story, and by His grace, I have done so.  Not only that, but I cannot wait to start on my next one.  I long to write.  It has been a complete joy to get to do so.  I can only hope that I will get to continue to do so, and hopefully that I will get paid to do so, that I might be able to focus.  Whatever happens, I want to thank God right now with a warm heart for allowing me to write.  To Him be all glory!  

P.S. I would love to read what you would write.