There Is Power In The Written Word
Just recently, my friend, Susan, told us all about her beautiful trip to Europe. She shared pictures, quotes, and how God was speaking to her throughout her entire time there and even when she returned home. (If you missed it, please see Susan’s post here on The Trip That Was Never Supposed To Happen.)
I hope Susan won’t mind, but there is a part in her post that truly reached out and touched my heart. I’ve thought of this quote since she shared it. She probably never even realized that we had something else in common: the interest and love of Anne Frank’s writings.
Susan shared:
I have to agree with Anne as she writes on March 15, 1944: “Yet, what’s nicest of all is that at least I can still write down my thoughts and feelings, otherwise I’d just totally suffocate.”
That’s what this website is all about. I have encouraged several to write … to share their beautiful words with the world. While our situations pale in comparison with what Anne went through, there is still such power in the written word.
Think of how you feel when you’re listening to a song, and that song moves something inside of you. Then, you search for the lyrics to make sure you had them all just right and to see the ones you may have missed as you were captured completely, entranced with the song. How powerful were those words when you heard them and then when you saw them in print?
Now, think of the actual written words whether it’s in the form of a poem, a letter, or a card you receive in the mail. Someone took the time to actually write their thoughts down, pouring them out on paper, to give to you.
That is powerful!
In the day we’re living in today with all of the technology that surrounds us, the written word has just about gotten lost. Everyone emails, sends text messages, or they bypass that completely and go to video chats like Skype, Facetime, and Google “meet ups”. Yes, it is wonderful to see someone, to look into their eyes, even if only with the aid of technology.
BUT …
After that moment is lost, there’s nothing to hold on to.
With the written word, you can hold it in your hands. You can feel the wrinkle of the paper, the very paper that they held in their hand. The paper that they placed delicately on the desk as they reached for their pen to share their heart with you.
I can imagine them sitting there in deep thought with this ever so serious look on their face. Gripping the pen tightly, they begin to pour out the contents of their heart onto that paper.
For some, it flows beautifully like a river.
For others, it is a painful task to put their thoughts into words as there just aren’t enough words in the human language to describe how they’re feeling. They labor over their hand written letter to you or their poetry that is offered to your heart straight from the very soul of their being.
The written word IS powerful.
Recently I was given a piece of paper with words reflecting the very heart of the giver. Those words spoke life over me and love into me.
Oh the power of the written word and a few strokes of the pen.
Keep writing, dear one. Keep writing and sharing yourself with the world.
Five Minute Fridays – Prompt Word “Mess”
You know what time it is, right?
FIVE MINUTE FRIDAY!!!
Our prompt word today is: Mess
The idea is to write for five whole minutes without regard to proofing … don’t worry about a thing. Just let the words FLOW!!
Ready?
Set?
GO!
Oh dear one. I see you hurting. I see all that goes on behind your smile. Your silliness tries to disguise it all, but I know you. I know your heart. I know the pain you’re silencing.
You feel like you’re a mess. But, here’s the thing. There is a message in your “mess.”
There is something good that will come from all of this. Today we’re not sure what “good” there could possibly be in ANY of this, but I am clinging to the promise that God has given in HIS word! He has a plan and a purpose for your life, dear one. He does not have plans to harm you but to prosper you, to give you a future and a hope …
Hope.
Hold on, don’t lose hope, darling. I’m here. I’ll help in whatever way I can.
I love you more than you could ever imagine. If only my love could save you. You’d never hurt again!
There’s no mess here. There’s beauty. There’s grace. There’s mercy. There’s love.
There’s something deeper developing from all of this. Your desire to help others is one … it’s a beautiful thing to think that while you’re hurting, your thoughts go to all the others “out there” that are hurting to. You want to help them, to rescue them, to help them, to guide them down a different path.
There’s much to be said about the type of person that you are.
Honey, you’re hurting, and yet you think of others!
You’re not a mess … just like you’re not any of the other things that your head is telling you. Listen to my heart speak to yours.
YOU MATTER!
You’re wanted.
You’re needed.
You’re important.
You’re loved … more than you will ever know in this lifetime or the next.
STOP!
Remembering Those That Have Gone Before Us
Less than a year ago, my sister passed away after a several month bout with cancer. As it gets closer to what would have been her forty-eighth birthday on May 11th, I find myself thinking of her and the effect she had on so many lives during her short life. As I think of her, I am continually amazed at what she accomplished with the trials and tribulations that she lived through.
My parents had two children, Julia and I. I am, or was, the oldest. Both of us were born handicapped. I hate that word; “handicapped.” It has a stigma attached to it for many people. We both inherited eye conditions from my father. My condition was not nearly as serious as Julia’s. Both of us were born with cataracts. As such, I have nearly no vision in my left eye and I have had a successful corrective surgery on the right. Julia, however, not only had cataracts in both eyes, but a detached optic nerve in one eye (which one I cannot remember) and glaucoma. Over the years, Julia had more than twelve surgeries to try to save her sight. As she explained to me one time, her sight would get better for a while after a surgery but then go back to where it was or get worse. It came to the point where Julia completely lost her sight a few years ago.
None of what she went through stopped her from living a full life. She achieved a Master’s degree in Education and Counseling. Her first job was as a counselor for the State of Illinois where she worked with abused children. When she decided to leave Illinois for Minnesota, she was unable to find work because of her physical limitations with not being able to drive. I did what I could to help her by building a website specifically for visually impaired people which Julia called eyes2eyes.com. And though her sight began to gradually fade, she built her website into a large community of support for those suffering with various visual conditions by doing online and phone counseling. The hard work she put into the site with posted articles, tips and so on to help the visually impaired got the attention of media around the world to the point where she did a guest radio appearance in Australia, and co-hosted a radio show based in France that catered specifically to those who were visually impaired. Though she made have been “handicapped”, Julia touched the lives and helped many people all over the world. One of her best friends she made though her work lives in Israel and Niki honored Julia by flying here for her funeral last August.
My point is telling you all this is not to boast of Julia’s accomplishments. My point is that no matter whom we are or what our situation is, God has given each of us a special talent. It is up to us to find that and to nurture it because we are all special in his eyes. He has given us each of us something special within ourselves. Julia found that and made the best of her situation. Our gift doesn’t have to be something that is world changing. All it has to do it to make your world a special place for you and those around you.
As for me, I was closer to Julia than to anyone else in our family. Now that she is gone, I am in a very lonely place right now. So I have taken Julia’s lead and begun to use some of those special things that God has given me that I let slip over the years that bring me and those around me joy. It has helped to get me through those days where I truly feel alone in a world full of people. Happy birthday Julia, I miss you more than mere words can ever express.
~The Quiet Computer Guy
The Quiet Computer Guy does web design/development, multimedia design/production and is an adjunct faculty member at a community college. He volunteers his time helping non-profits and small businesses with their web site and computer needs. In his spare time, he plays with a local classic rock band.
