My post retirement dream was to become a writer. I have been working at it for over four years now. As a teacher, I loved helping students create stories because they used their imagination to take the story anyplace they wanted to go. As an adult, I realized I have spent a lifetime reading many great books. Like with my students, I admired the creative stories of other authors especially the books that had me so lost in the story that I didn’t want to put the book down. I dreamed of writing like them.

Taking online writing classes was my first step toward my goal. My intent was to improve my skills as a writer. What I didn’t count on was the fact that writing can be painful. My professors often gave assignments that centered on life events that made me go deeper into examining past experiences and feelings that I stuffed way down inside without ever verbalizing my pain. That caught me by surprise!

Since that first year of writing, I have begun to create Christian novels of my own and am working at my editing. Characters in my books are frequently  based on people I’ve met in my life in some way or they reveal parts of me. Character flaws create drama in the plot and often tap into personal pain. Using familiar events, places or people help make my manuscript  easier to write.

It is clear that my faith journey is also an important piece of the writing I am doing. Everyone has a story to tell and should try to share it with others so they can learn from it. Pain will come with the writing, but once on paper peace will follow. The process can show you how far you have come.

During a recent Bible study, we were chatting about how the Bible is a God breathed book. A series of writers were inspired by God to write what became the all time best seller book for over 2000 years. There is not another book that can claim that.

Anyone who reads the Bible will find themselves in the stories because they are metaphors of life today. Included are flawed characters, action, drama, evil, love, war, betrayal, incest, murder, family dysfunction and things that make us read other books. God inspired these stories and they have stood the test of time. He used ordinary people to do extra ordinary things

When comparing yourself and your own life to the imperfect people in the Bible and their dysfunction, the revelation of how to change will be realized. It is a book on redemption and hope.

I can now imagine God’s pain when people disappointed him over and over again.  He continued to forgive and love in spite of human failure. He is the same loving and forgiving God today. The best news is we know how the story ends and good does win. Pain is only of  this world. The best is yet to come!