From The Valley, The Writer Speaks

Last week, I had the chance to sit in a room full of women and listen to the best selling author, Glennon Doyle Melton of Momastery share a bit of her testimony, and a whole lot of wisdom.  Coming from a past of addiction and heartache, she not only found God, but His greater purpose for her--to write. Glennon doesn't just speak as a writer, she speaks (and writes) as a "valley" girl...a woman who has found her calling to write in the very bottom of one of life's valley.

freedigitalphotos.net by Boaz Yiftach

Glennon said two things that resonated most with me (and if you've talked with me these past few days...I have probably told you this because it's something I am constantly processing!):

First thing, is when she spoke of walking in a valley, she said: "Life-changing work begins at the broken heart."

And second-- Glennon realized she needed "to be still--to sit in the pain (of life)" and let it change her.

 The two above points meet me on a personal level,  reaching to the very core of me, my very valley-treading soul that sits in the pit and waits to let the pain change me.

BUT.... what God calls me to do, as I sit--in the waiting for change-- is to WRITE.

freedigitalphotos.net by anankkml

In that writing, I am changed. And the pain pours out, and my heart is healed...BY my calling, IN the valley. 

The writing does not save me from the valley, but it changes me, and it explores the pain to reveal God's healing. And even in a fiction plot, and the made-up characters, His Truth begins to minister to the wound of my very real heart, and  life-changing work begins.

So...I would like to reiterate that, especially for me, "life-changing work begins at the broken heart". And, to sit in the pain, and "be still", and allow the pain to change me, perhaps it's not just a time for waiting, but for writing?

Have you poured your heart out on paper and found healing through it?

(To understand more of Glennon's story, click here:  http://momastery.com/blog/about-glennon/ )

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Angie Dicken is a full-time mom and lives in the Midwest with her Texas Aggie sweetheart. An ACFW member since 2010, she has written five Historical Romance novels, has a Historical underway, and is represented by Tamela Hancock Murray of The Steve Laube Agency. Angie also spends her time designing one-sheets, selling Jamberry, and drinking good coffee with great friends. Check out her author page at www.facebook.com/dicken.angie and her personal blog at angiedicken.blogspot.com