Friday, February 7, 2014

Write… because your story matters

Five Minute Friday

Since I was a little girl, I've had the "itch" - you know… where it feels like that's what comes natural to you, where you feel like your thoughts are best expressed. It used to be made up stories about the lives of fake characters who I probably wished were me - living a much cooler life than the already awesome life I lived at the time :) I remember literally writing books in notebooks, complete with magazine pictures of the characters so that everyone had a face, an identity, a story.

In high school it turned into essay writing and mandatory writing, but I still loved it. In college, it became my outlet. I journaled my way through really hard dating relationships and girly friendships, through figuring out who I was 8 hours from my family, through finding my wings and learning who I was supposed to become.

Shortly after college, I started a blog. It wasn't because I thought my story mattered at the time; in fact, I was convinced I didn't have much of a story. Funny how our young selves can't see truth sometimes. I blogged for me… because life was moving fast and I wanted to remember.

Now I am just learning, at 33, to blog because my story matters. I'm not very good at it yet, but in reading other people's blogs, I've learned that them sharing their story has done something for me. What I've been through, how I've learned things, how God has changed me - those things can do something for a reader or a friend. And so with boldness and a little bit of trepidation, I am entering a season where I am choosing to blog - life, marriage, missions, soon-to-be-motherhood, friendships, family and mess - because I know my story matters. Yours does to, so don't be afraid to write.

P.S. - this is a post from a gal who inspires me to write more with transparency - her story is changing me