Learning to Use My Story

The crisp white, blue-lined notebook paper lay before me on my Grandma's kitchen table.  Squirming in my seat excitedly, I picked up the yellow No.2 pencil and scribbled, "Once upon a time..."

And then I was stuck.

I sat down that day to write a book.  I'd read more books than I could count so surely I knew what a good story looked like.  And dozens of good stories swirled around in my head so getting one of them down on paper should have been easy.  At least, that's what my naive nine-year old self kept thinking.

Fast forward twenty-five years and I again sit at a kitchen table attempting to write.  Shifting in my chair to find a comfortable position, I place my fingers on the black computer keyboard and type:  

"I heard God whisper, 'I gave you a gift.  I gave you a story.  Now it is your responsibility to use those.  And use them wisely." - Amy Sorrells

And then I am stuck.

I sit here today to write a blog post.  But not just any blog post.  Today I am writing a blog post to win a scholarship to the She Speaks Conference.  It's not just any conference.  It's THE conference for Christian women who desire to be speakers and writers and bloggers.  It's the conference I have longed to attend for three years but couldn't!

So how do I get unstuck in writing my blog post?  By telling you my story.

Last year, about this time, I read a blog post by Amy Sorrells.  In it she said, "I heard God whisper, 'I gave you a gift.  I gave you a story.  Now it is your responsibility to use those.  And use them wisely."  As I read Amy's post, I heard God whisper the same thing to my heart.

God gave ME a story.

The story He gave me is no longer the fairy tales written by a nine-year old girl.  Now it is the story of the joys and trials of a thirty-six-year old woman.

• A woman who knows the trial of leaving family and friends and the joy of following her husband.
• A woman who knows the trial of living with a painful, incurable disease and the joy of encouraging a young wife seeking information about the same disease.
• A woman who knows the pain of miscarrying a baby and the joy of birthing four children.
• A woman who knows the exhaustion from caring for a sick two-year old all night and the joy of teaching a five-year old to read.

God gave me a story to share but I need help.  I need to learn how to communicate my story in an effective manner.  I need to learn how to craft an article and presentation so that my readers and listeners receive encouragement.  I have MUCH to learn so that I can use my story wisely!!

That's why I want to attend the She Speaks Conference.  So, I can be equipped as a speaker and author. 

Maybe one day I'll finish the book I started twenty-five years ago.  I already have the first line done:  "Once upon a time God planted the dream to write a book in the heart of a nine-year old girlie."

What dream has God planted in your heart and how are you accomplishing it?