Saturday, September 15, 2007

The Soul of a Writer

Heidi Hess Saxton's blog has a fantastic post about the deepest desires of a writer's soul coming from Our Lord. He is calling us to write, and when we obey Him, we see amazing results.
I have wanted to be a writer for as long as I can remember, but somehow suppressed that desire over and over again as it emerged relentlessly.I won a statewide poetry contest in high school for a poem I wrote about the coming of Pope John Paul II to New York in 1979. I published an article in Queen of All Hearts magazine on his visit in 1995. I wrote to Fr. Fessio of Ignatius Press about my desire to write Catholic children's books in 1997 (he promised to read my manuscripts personally, and I never wrote them!).
Finally, this time last year, I recognized, so late, but not too late, that this was planted in my heart from God, along with the talent to go with it, so I'd better get on with it. Perhaps it was the 25th Anniversary of EWTN Conference which spurred me on to trust God, and step out in faith. I saw firsthand the results of the faith of Mother Angelica, and, after reading her biography, saw how God acted so powerfully when she trusted Him, despite her troubled childhood and poor health. "If Mother can do it, so can I", I told myself.
So now, at 45, I'm finally a writer. I'm my truest self. A stay at home, homeschooling mom who writes. Life is incredibly full and my most far-flung fantasies are becoming reality. Last year, I floated the ceiling with joy, when I sold a piece to Faith and Family. Now, I'm having to write myself a flow chart, so I stay on top of my deadlines.
I have four upcoming articles, a book, two conference talks, two radio interviews, and a screenplay in process. I'm applying for a permit from the FCC to run a radio station to broadcast EWTN on FM radio. There is the Dr. Jerome Lejeune Society which is gaining momentum. Then there are the movie promotions (Bella and Mr. Blue Sky) the movie reviews and the pro-life activism. Did I mention I have four blogs?
For most of these projects, my girls are fully involved, like when they met Senator Brownback at Blogs for Life, or attended film premieres in Hollywood and New York. I plan to have them tag along to the Catholic Writer's Conference this which is to be held in a fun-sounding resort near Chicago. I'll get to meet my co-author Monica Rafie there. It embarrasses me, when I write all this, it looks like bragging, but just remember, I'm just a housewife with a keyboard. And a call from God. Is there any doubt now that all this is His doing and NOT mine?
In my recent article in Celebrate Life magazine, I end with the quote from Scripture:
"delight thyself also in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart."

4 comments:

Steve said...

I have truely enjoyed reading your blogs (ALl 4) and look forward to the book.

Elizabeth Kathryn Gerold-Miller said...

What a beautiful thing to be given a gift and to use it for the glorification of the Giver!

Anonymous said...

Hey i'm 45 today & would love to be a writer! Send me some tips..God bless

Leticia said...

Happy birthday, Jackie! I think you are already an accomplished writer. I see you blog everywhere, so I think I should be coming to YOU for advice!