"He Is in the Pain"

Dan Wakefield is a Hoosier native who became a leading writer in New York's "beat" scene of Greenwich Village in the 1950s, then went to Hollywood to seek his fortune in network television,  where he fell into alcoholism and sexual promiscuity. His closest relationships unraveled and he found himself a wayward, lonely vagabond until he "happened" to visit a Christmas Eve service at a Unitarian Church in Boston. There he became aware that God was with him--in fact, God had always been with him--and God was ready to restore his life to wholeness.

Wakefield tells his story in Return: A Spiritual Journey (Beacon Press: 1997), which journalist Bill Moyers called "one of the most important memoirs of the spirit I've ever read." It was the first book I read this year, and it has given me a lot to think about. I was especially struck by what Wakefield says about his relationship with Jesus when he was experiencing deep pain and loss:

For me the light is Christ, and it is not just a light as in "sweetness and light" but an illumination of pain as well, and a force for understanding and bearing it. When I went to our minister once at a time of particular anguish I asked him suddenly, with a challenge, "Where is Christ in all this?" and he answered without hesitation, "He is in the pain." I learned that resurrection is not just the "happy ending" that follows crucifixion but, as our minister put it, those events are "two aspects of the same reality, even as Easter and Good Friday are the same reality" (Return, 249).

 Reflect on the times of anguish and sorrow in your own life, and ask yourself where Jesus Christ was during those times--totally absent, observing your pain from a distance, or part of the pain itself?

We need to understand His role in our pain, not only for our personal spiritual growth, but for the sake of realism in our writing as well. Where do your characters see Jesus Christ in their times of deepest pain? What do they learn about Him in their suffering? Do you avoid writing about your characters' experience of pain because you are baffled by its purpose in your own life?

On this Holy Saturday, I invite you to find Jesus in your pain. He took our sufferings upon himself yesterday, but we still experience suffering, don't we? So do the people we write about. If our writing is to be true to life, we must be able to answer Dan Wakefield's question: "Where is Christ in all this?"

__________________

Joe Allison and his wife, Judy, live in Anderson IN, where Joe serves as Editorial Director of Discipleship Resources & Curriculum for Warner Press, Inc. Joe has several nonfiction books in print, including Swords and Whetstones: A Guide to Christian Bible Study Resources. He's currently writing a trilogy of Christian historical novels set in the Great Depression.

Visit Joe's blog at http://southernmtns.wordpress.com

Confession of a Freelance Writer

A cold, blustery wind blew from the west, sneaking its way through the crevices in my hundred year old farmhouse. Earlier that day I’d bustled the children off to school and hubby off to work. A rare day with no call from the school to substitute and no place to go until that evening, I was home alone. With just the dog and a steaming cup of coffee to keep me company and keep me warm, I snuggled on the couch with my laptop and wrote. And wrote some more.

The blowing wind and the hum of my computer masked the crunch of tires on gravel. Suddenly the hair on the dog’s back went up and then came a thundering knock on the back door. My heart hammered with panic and I shushed the dog, remaining completely still. He’ll go away if he thinks no one is home. There was no way I was answering that door. I was still in my pajamas…and it was 2 o’clock. In. The. Afternoon.

There’s a dirty little confession for you. Sometimes when I’m home alone and the day looms gray and drab and my calendar is blessedly empty, I get involved in my writing and just don’t bother to change into something more professional. It appears I’m not the only one.

At the same time that clothing companies are catering to teenagers and adults who like to wear their jammies every day, all day long, some opponents are raising an outcry. Some rail against the public wearing of pajamas calling it everything from slovenly (saying if you’re dressed for bed you won’t be at your best) to a health hazard (because people usually don’t shower before they put on nightclothes and bacterial infections could lead to death—seriously, this is what someone argued!). They wonder what will become of our nation if we permit people to wear their pj's in public. Will underwear be acceptable next? Maybe we’ll become so lazy as to not wear clothing at all? I think not. (And for the record, when my kids were little and we had “Pajama Day”, they always took a bath that night and changed into clean jammers. Take that, Commissioner Williams!)

Michael Williams (see health hazard reference above), a Louisiana parish commissioner ,even went so far as to negate the wearing of nightclothes in public by proposing a law. (At this writing it has been put to bed for the time-being.) How would you like that job added to your list of duties if you were a Louisiana police officer? Upholding the peace, responding to emergencies, risking your life, and barring the wearing of bedclothes.

I won’t be sporting my sleepwear to the grocery, the bank, or my child’s sporting event. But to say that people who don’t change out of their nightshirts into neckties are lazy or unproductive? To this I say, “Hogwash!” If I can get an entire day’s worth of work or writing done, not dirty more laundry, and stay comfy in my flannels that’s a win-win-win. The only thing I can’t do is answer the door to the UPS guy.

Nikki Studebaker Barcus

Unconditional Love At Its Best

Remember the famous slogan from the movie, Love Story? Love means never having to say you’re sorry. Since the movie’s over forty years old, I don’t think it’s a spoiler to tell you it’s about two star-crossed college-age students who fall in love, and one is dying from leukemia. I understand love is about being accepted for who and what we are and being forgiven whether or not we ask. Quite simply, it’s unconditional. But what about this never saying you’re sorry business? I don’t know about you, but that’s not how my world operates.

You must understand I’m a person who routinely apologizes for things over which I have no control, and mumbles “I’m sorry” to inanimate objects, doors or walls when I inadvertently bump against them (don’t worry; it doesn’t happen often). My mama taught me good manners, and I count it a blessing that all three of my children said “pease” and “tank you” [intentional misspellings there – they were barely toddlers, after all) before they could say much else. But “sowwy” ranks right up there among their first words, too. Learning to say those two words, “I’m sorry” is important.

Writers are an odd lot. I’m thankful my family and closest friends put up with me. It’s unconditional love at its best. Sure, I sometimes get the eye rolls, the arm taps and that glazed-over look. But these people are also my greatest supporters, source of encouragement, and they spare me from apologizing all the livelong day.

Think about it. Read through the list below and see how many of these sound familiar – perhaps we can call them the hazards of a writer’s life:

*Waking up in the middle of the night to scribble notes about something a character will do, has done or will have done to him/her
*Carrying on conversations with characters and plotting stories while in the car, the office or an elevator (pretty much any small, enclosed space)
*Asking total strangers random questions all in the name of research. I was in line at a convenience store behind an EMT awhile back. Knowing I only had a certain window of time to ask my question, I plunged in. “Excuse me, may I ask you a question?” It was great because the EMT confirmed exactly what I wrote in my story.
*Bursting into laughter because a character says or does something amusing in our imagination. I’m sure there are people who believe my characters of Sam Lewis and Lexa Clarke are living, breathing human beings. They sure are to me!
*Buying things because they’re symbolic of our characters and their stories – my working area is decorated in the “Lone Star” style, an homage to all things Texas. My daughter even found an armadillo purse on Ebay. It was ugly but quite an interesting novelty item (I didn’t buy it).
*Lighting up like a Christmas tree because someone says, “So, tell me about your book.” Aren’t those among the most beautiful words in the English language?
*Crying when events in real life mirror our fiction, sad or happy. I cried like a baby when the space shuttle, Endeavor, finally lifted off on its final journey to the ISS. I have such a healthy respect for our star sailors. Hopefully, you’ll know why in a few short years. It’s down the line in my series, but it’s my personal favorite.
*Sitting at events, meetings or appointments with notepad or electronic device in hand, ready to jot notes when inspiration strikes.
*Scouring the newspaper or the internet in search of stories with intriguing twists or interesting people and/or details.
*Throwing all my spare change into a jar marked, “Conference Bound.”
*Experimenting with recipes or regional dishes indigenous to the region/setting of our book.
*Willing to make a fool of myself all in the name of a good story or finding the answer to some burning question.
*Watching the dust bunnies grow because, “…just 1,000 more words.”

Why do we do it? Because, pure and simple, it's our passion. Sure, we’re a little crazy. We have to be or we wouldn’t be gluttons for punishment. It’s a unique calling, writing. Especially as a Christian writer. What a comfort it is to know I’m forgiven by my heavenly Father without asking when I'm sometimes a bumbling mess. Kind of like never having to say I’m sorry. But I know when I need to confess something, just as I'm sure you do. But, either way, what joy fills my heart knowing my heavenly Father is always there, listening, loving and forgiving.

Until next time, keep writing, keep learning, and bask in the glorious, unconditional love of the Father. But don't ever be afraid to say you're sorry. Matthew 5:16