Testimony 4 of 4 for the Charism of Writing

The Charism of Writing was one of my top scores in the Called & Gifted Questionnaire. During my one to one & conversation, my Interviewer was visibly moved by a piece of my writing that I shared with her and she said I should value and store my prayers and poems so that future generations could savour them.

“My spiritual writing has deepened my relationship with God.”

Since Infant School I have had a real fascination with words, spellings, and learning obscure words to replace those in common usage. The poems I encountered in Primary School had a profound effect on me– I seemed able to unlock the beauty within them. For the past fifty years I have been composing and writing poetry. Initially it was a hobby, for my own benefit and self satisfaction. However, as the years passed my writing was used in the service of others, for God’s purposes, to uplift, to bring joy and laughter, to challenge, to console and to convey to others what is beautiful and memorable in His creation. My spiritual writing has deepened my relationship with God. I turn to writing whenever I recognise I need the Lord in my life. ‘Are you there Lord?’ was one such piece:

Are You there, Lord?

I cannot hold tightly to Your hand, Lord
So please hold on to mine and don’t let go,
I cannot speak very loudly to You, Lord
So please listen as I whisper, however slow,
I cannot easily hear Your voice, sweet Lord
So please speak loudly and clearly, I pray,
I cannot see You yet, dearest Lord
So be my Light to guide me every day.

I have written poems praising God, petitioning God and giving glory to God through His creation. I use my poems to help others through their difficulties or to console them. To help friends through the grieving process I write specifically about the lives of their loved ones, reaffirming my belief in perfect peace and eternal life awaiting them.I distribute copies to the close family members.

Friends have been moved and very appreciative when I have written and framed poems with photos paying tribute to their well Cloved pets that have died.

I love being a writer and inspiration can come at any time of day or night. It amazes me that, when I look at the end result, I think it’s far beyond and above my own natural ability (I was not very imaginative as a child). It really seems to be that this is a charism received as a gift from the Lord. It’s at such times He uses me as a channel for His purposes.

When I used to do Interactive Poetry at a local Residential Centre, the residents became animated and laughed and became a sea of beautiful smiling faces. Many suffered with depression and dementia but, when they all joined in reading a selection of humorous and well Cloved poems aloud and started reciting tongue twisters at a lightning pace, they were completely transformed. A friend asked if I could compose a poem/prayer on the theme of Journeys for his Called and Gifted Group Meeting:

JOURNEYS

O, Lord be with us as we journey through life,
Give us wisdom to choose the right road,
Give us hope when the storms of life rage and frustrate us,
Give us your agape love, which binds up and heals others’ wounds,
Give us of faith when we feel weare sinking beneath the waves, Give us patience when facing temptation alone in the wilderness,
Give us courage to carry our crosses without complaint,
Give us joy for we know our Redeemer lives and walks before us,
And at the end of our journeys give us peace, Your all encompassing Peace. This we pray. – Amen.

Other Writing Quotes for the Called and Gifted Community

“I believe I have discerned the presence of the Charism of Writing as I derive untold joy and peace from writing poetry and prayers for others and look for every possible opportunity to do so.”

Friends and family regularly confirm that I have a special gift for writing. I acknowledge that I am truly blessed and feel privileged that God uses me to create beauty through the medium of words.

Other Writing Quotes from the Called and Gifted Community

Writing a Creation Song Cycle

“When I completed the questionnaire, the results were refreshingly surprising and the one to one conversation that followed was a revelation! My top charism appeared to be Writing with Teaching fairly close behind.”

“Why did I choose to respond to Called and Gifted? The timing was right. I’m a mother of five, my children are growing up, the youngest has just entered secondary school. Although I still work full time, I had a sense of wanting to fill the free time beginning to emerge with something meaningful. My faith is very important to me so if I was “called and gifted” and had something that I could give back to my community, then that would be a result. I wasn’t sure what the programme entailed but was willing to trust the process to see what came out of it. And am I glad I did!”

“For me, the exploration of the ‘writing charism’ continues and even today I’m intrigued – in what way am I called to use this charism of writing? Will anyone benefit? I don’t have all the answers. Well my realisation so far is that charisms don’t always manifest themselves in the way I expect. I have not written long essays and spiritual writings.”