Thursday, July 19, 2018

I REMEMBER




Memory is a crucial thing and becomes more valuable as you age.  We seem to have an epidemic of memory disorders today ranging from various forms of dementia or Alzheimer’s, amnesia, and brain fog.  I believe there are some to don’t remember because they don’t want to.

This phenomenon came real to me when I suffered from fungus of the lungs and had brain fog.  It was as if the answer was just on the tip of my tongue.  It was as if I remembered I had a car and car keys but couldn’t remember how I got into the car seat.

This attack on the mind is so important that if your mind can’t remember how you did certain things it could forget how to breathe or speak and your biological systems can begin to shut down; imagine that.

Since my recovery from the brain fog I purposely force myself to go through the process of remembering things.  I make a conscious effort to go through the entire range of thoughts for things occurring in my daily life.  When I do this, I’m often surprised how many things I’ve forgotten but were key to the final results.  I also find there are things I wish to forget.

I was sharing the details of my healing from the fungus in my lungs to someone.  I shared how I changed my diet, started juicing, and about the great physicians, specialist, and holistic doctors that helped this happen.  Then a song came on the radio.  I love the song and the story began to play in my mind why it had such meaning to me.

I remember one day I was in my kitchen gagging and coughing, begging God to help me and I heard Him say to my spirit, sing.  I thought you must be joking, I can’t even breathe or talk, let alone sing.  The word and command came to my spirit again.  Being obedient, I wondered what I should sing, and the song on the radio came to mind.

It took weeks to be able to sing the first verse, only accomplished by many napkins, tissue wasn’t sturdy enough, and many interruptions of coughing spells.  In several months I could sing the song all the way through but at a lower octave range than I normally sang in. After 6 months, I was singing the song as I did before my sickness.  I used Google to search singing and found that in the UK it’s a common successful therapy for lung patients, even some with severe cases, to have the patients sing for therapy.  Look at how wise our God is and how innovative He was in my healing.  Now I often sing to keep the lungs exercised.

This is why the memory is so important.  When I remembered the details of how I sang that song, my eyes fill with tears.  Not just what the singing did but remembering what God did.  He was so detailed and precise in my healing that each aspect is important to the outcome.

I also remember the things that have made my life what it is, both the good and bad.  My life and strength are in the small details.  That’s why I think I am now striving to be a storyteller.  By rehearsing the facts of the events in my life, I hope I’m leaving an indelible impression on my mind and those who hear my story.

Remembering reminds me of how much God cares for me and I am reminded that there is no limit to what He will do for me to make me whole.

Do this exercise today, look back over a few events that have occurred in your life and remember them in their entirety.  I guarantee you’ll see there are things you’ve forgotten that happened but most important, you’ll see how important it is to remember because our memories are the songs of who we are.

I’m so glad I remembered.

Monday, July 2, 2018

A WRITER’S GOTTA WRITE TO BE A WRITER




I’ve been so busy lately that I seemed to have forgotten my 2nd love, writing; my first is God.  I’ve been going after the American dream, life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, where ever that leads me to rekindle my fire, I’ve studied the process of writing, I’ve read books on how to write. I’ve joined groups on telling stories about the things I’ve written in the past but I looked at my notebooks still full of pages and my calendar blank of my scheduled future writing.  But a writer’s gotta write to be a writer. 

This is a problem and probably explains why I’ve had a bit of an edge lately.  I feel as if a part of me and who I am is missing when I’m not writing.  When I write, I seek the guidance of God and google for my issues or things just on my heart.  I get to a place where I feel the anointing of God like in no other place. For it was He that asked me, what I originally thought was a question but realized it was an appointment, in 2009 who shall write of His glory.

I had to sit down one day and analyze the situation and find out just what my problem was. To my surprise, I found out I lost my focus and inspiration.  This is like needing a quadruple heart bypass for a writer with no doctor in the room.  Focus for me as a writer was always a challenge, if you saw me write you’d think I was bipolar, dyslexic, OCD, and just nuts. I’d be all over the place as ideas and sentences rushed through my mind but I’d always reel them in.  Now my focus can’t be tamed.  When I reel it in, I’m too exhausted to write.  My inspiration waned. I discovered it was because of writing wounds.  Writers know what I mean, those are the many disappointments and rejections that overshadow the acceptance and approval for assignments we so long to get.  It’s the point when the mind says to you, why try after the doors are shut in your face or on your foot for your next writing opportunity.  And to top it all off I went back to grad school to get my Master’s degree.  What was I thinking! But a writer’s gotta write to be a writer.

The ultimate danger to this would be the total loss of my passion for writing.  If I lost this, I wouldn’t think it important to jot down that topic or get up early or stay up late to finish until my soul was satisfied and God was pleased. I would not be pleasing in God’s sight because He commissioned me to write of His glory.  All those who send me emails, postcards, or call to say how my pieces have helped encourage them or their family members would cease and maybe the one who would have saw hope through my words would be left with despair and decide to choose the wrong solution.

Just like someone hangs on to a dying relationship with someone they love so dear, I’m going to run after my 2nd love, writing, like never before. I’m going to sit and just meditate, listen to music and let my mind wander while I put away the cares of this world for a while.  I’m going to schedule time again on my calendar to face that blank page on my laptop and fill it up with my thoughts.  I’m going to read more until my inspiration resurges again. 

I’ll go back before the One who gave me the commission to write and ask for His help.  One thing I know, He will provide what I need to accomplish what He told me to do, as I do my part.  It’s not that I don’t have material, my daily life is one fantastic story after another.  I need His help to minimize the disconnect and distraction of getting my thoughts from my heart to the paper.  I need His help to open the door that no one can shut and shut those where no one can reopen for me.  But one thing for sure, a writer’s gotta write to be a writer.

Enjoy life, trust God, and never ever lose your passion.