I went to college as a special education major.
I’d always had an interest in sign language and braille. And after visiting Gallaudet University, a college for the deaf and hard of hearing in Washington, DC, while writing a high school report, I selected special education as my college major.
That lasted all of one semester.
Why?
Because I asked myself this question: What one thing do I love enough that I wouldn’t mind doing it for the rest of my life?
The answer?
Writing.
I’d always loved words. Always loved writing. Always loved English in school — yes, even diagraming sentences, back when we did that.
And so, I changed my major to journalism — and never looked back.
Oh, sure, I put writing on the back-burner for a number of years as I figured out the whole mothering gig (and believe me, I had a lot to learn!). But in my heart, I was, and always had been, a writer.
Today’s quote spoke to that part of my heart — the truth that some things (reflected in our thoughts) never change. And that’s okay. Wait, it’s more than that. The passions that don’t disappear — even if they have to be set aside for a season — those are the ones that reflect the you that God made you to be.
In Your Words: What do you think about every day? How does it fuel your dreams?
Passion: Whatcha’ thinking about? Click to Tweet
How our thoughts fuel our dreams Click to Tweet
Comments 22
I’m so glad you made the right career decision. You already have so much to show for it, and so much more to come.
When I was in 6th grade and the school sometimes had me cover grade 1 or 2 classes for a few hours at the end of class days when teachers had to leave, I fell in love with teaching, and it’s changed my life. Loved writing, too, starting in grade 3. I can still rattle off most of poem stories I made up then, and still taking writing seriously.
Author
Oh, Dee … the places you’ve gone, the people you’ve seen — and influenced.
🙂
Yep, I’m with you. Writing. Pouring love into my kiddos. Being outside. Those are the biggies.
Author
I knew I wanted to be a writer.
Motherhood scared me. At one point I decided nope, not for me.
Motherhood made me who I am today.
If, when I die, people can say I loved my husband and my children … well, that’s enough for me.
Wow, Beth, I just read the rest of yesterday’s blog comments. You’ve got some vital, powerful stuff going on. So important, God is so using!
Oh my goodness, I LOVE that quote. That Winston Churchill guy was pretty sweet. 🙂
I think the thing I can’t go a day without thinking about is stories. Just in general…stories. I’ll watch a movie and if it’s a good one, analyze it SO much. A good book stays with me. The characters feel real. And my own stories feel alive to me…I actually woke up thinking about Blake today, one of my main characters. And so yeah…I’m a storyteller. Can’t give that up.
Author
You and me both, Melissa.
And it’s a joy to walk this writing road together.
SC 2009 … what a memory!
My passion is teaching God’s Word – bringing it off the page and into real life. Nothing fills my heart more than seeing someone’s face light up with an “I see now,” moment.
We moved about a year ago and haven’t settled on a church. I’m not teaching right now and my heart craves it. I’ve taught my Bible study a few times but, somehow, it’s not the same.
My writing is an extension of that passion.
Author
Indeed, Sherry, your writing is an extension of your passion!
🙂
I’m with Wendy, writing and family are what are foremost on my mind. I miss writing when I can’t do it daily, and I’m happy, happy when I get to sit down and write a scene. With my family, I love spending time with my hubby and boys. I find myself praying for the boys as they grow older and heart issues arrive. My passion and my prayer is that we will raise them well (with Jesus’ help) and that they will be godly, responsible men one day.
Author
And I remember meeting as moms … and then one day hearing you say, “I have this idea for a story …”
🙂
You know, it’s funny. I majored in journalism and never thought about switching my major. But it wasn’t until my first course for my master’s in English…which happened to be a fiction creative writing class that just happened to open at the last minute when I needed something to fill the slot (coincidence? I think not!). Taking that class reawakened in me the passion I’d always had, but when I was younger, thought would be too scary, too full of competition: writing fiction. I think God always brings us back to our passions — like you said, even if we need to spend a season away.
Author
You and me, Lindsay, the journalists-turned-novelists.
😉
How wise you were to ask yourself that question so early in your college life! I always wanted to be a lawyer, but never a writer. Instead, I work in a law firm that taught me the art of writing and structuring a story for 20 years until God made it clear that writing was my heart’s desire. It just takes some of us longer to catch on. 🙂
Author
Oh, but what a ministry you have, Donna. What a heart for others and God’s Word.
I think about far too much. Some days, I cannot get my brain to relax.
I think that’s what people call “Awesome Deliberation Holycowyer-Dynamite”…ness. Ism. Itis.
In terms of writing, I think “I MUST tell their story, I cannot let them suffer alone. I cannot let the words of so-called Christians be ones of condemnation. Jesus never meant for His name spit at them. God loves them, He always has…I need to tell them that.”
Author
Your comment brought tears to my eyes.
It is so … you.
I’m with so many commenters today. I think about stories. Not only the ones I write or the ones I’ve read, but Christ’s story, the story of my marriage and the story of my children’s lives. I’m forever thinking about all the ways I could make each of those stories deeper, more meaningful and more powerful. For Christ’s story I think about how I can live it out in my life and writing. For my marriage story, I think about how my husband and I could craft it in such a way that it’s a powerful testimony to God’s love and faithfulness. For my children’s stories, I think about how I can lay the foundation for the story they will someday write themselves. I love how God uses story. It’s an amazing gift to all of us and I’m honored He would call me to think on it.
Author
So profound, Gabe.
I love how you’ve woven the idea of story into the very texture of your life — and the lives around you.
You sure made the right choice, Beth, and the world is a richer place for it – and for your presence, and the light of your faith and love.
My life is pretty episodic, mainly centered around what I have to do to keep things going. Foremost is my marriage, and the dog sanctuary. These guys all went through rough times to get here, and the dreams I had have been subsumed into their service.
I still try to do a bit on my ‘old dreams’ every day, though. I still work on the airplane I’m building. May never finish it, much less fly it, but it’s important to stay in the game, and remain faithful to the younger me that dreamed of flight as the way to “touch the face of God.”
And I write. It’s not writing that’s the passion, per se. It’s more the message, that even though the world can be a place of unimaginable cruelty, there is still good to be done, and every positive action is worth taking.
One has to stand for something. I’d rather stand for something good, and gentle, and compassionate.
And that compassion sometimes has to be matched with hard proactive action. It’s not enough to pick up broken pieces of lives. There is the implicit requirement to stand in the gap, and fight to protect those who can’t protect themselves.
With words, and with more active measures.
So while I write, I still train for the battles to come. Or for my own private Alamo, if that’s where it all leads.
Author
Ah, yes, Andrew … remain faithful to that younger you.
God smiles on that.
He smiles on you as you minister to the least of these.
After all, God is the creator of animals, and He said they are good.
And he said a righteous man cares for his animals …
So, you, Andrew, a righteous man.
And loving.
And still dreaming.
Every day for the past 10 years, I’ve thought about my future husband and being married to him, looking forward to it with a passion. Besides praying an awful lot about who he is and what I need to be doing in the meantime (and then doing the work that meantime stuff requires), there isn’t really much I can do to make it happen. Trusting God is the only way to see this dream fulfilled, so that’s what I aim for every day.
Beth, I am so glad you decided to go with writing. What would I do without Wish You Were Here? I l-o-v-e that story so much!
Blessings,
Andrea
P.S. One of my friends (a teenager who consumes books like some of us do food) asked to borrow your books after reading the blurbs online. Of course I lent them to her! How could I not share the llamas? 🙂