“You are a necessary part of my journey.” That’s what Liberty said yesterday in the comments. I’ve met Liberty a few times and I really like her and her words are incredibly encouraging. More than that, though, she got me thinking about things.
I felt grounded in those simple words, because it’s a reminder – we cannot do this alone. I have to tell you, the process of writing that post, the one about quitting, was the very thing that encouraged me. It was laying the green sod down on the tired dirt, and your comments poured in like much needed rain, like flowers to fill in the empty spaces. I used to feel guilty that I have to write in order to learn, embarrassed over my process. I used to try to sit and keep my pen still long enough to listen, long enough to have a proper, respectable ‘quiet time.’
I don’t feel guilty anymore. I feel free. Because if the Lord is the Maker, then it’s his job to make. And to re-make. He has made me to worship with words. He is re-making me to learn how to accept that, embrace that, and share it with you.
Liberty’s words resonate deep, because the truth is, I am a little bit addicted to the island of myself. I’ve lived a lot of life under an emotional rock. Not in an anti-social way, but in an it’s-easier-to-hide-than-offer-myself-to-you way. To move from the rock to the open field takes effort and intention, but the more I inch my way out, the more alive I feel.
That’s what art does. It brings you out of yourself, out from your hiding. Bonita has been a necessary part for me – and Lysa and my sister and Kendra and Kelly and my Dad and Melissa and my mom and other girls who have blogs and lots of ones who don’t and you – necessary parts. The I-can’t-do-it-without-you people; the please-don’t-stop-doing-what-you-do people. Their art is necessary for me.
Your art is necessary for someone, too. And I don’t just mean your art project – I’m mean you, the artist. We don’t just need the story you tell, we need the storyteller, herself. Do you live like you are a necessary part?
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