A Sabbath

It is a great privilege each week to write reflections. Often, I am unaware of how the reflections I offer are received. Beyond the simple notion of like or dislike, I often do not know what it is that people find in the reflections offered as those nuggets of encouragement in the walk of faith. It is often this way with writing. A reflection, a book, or a poem is written. It is published - whether that be in a book, in an anthology, or on a blog. The response of the reader is more or less unknown. From time to time, the author might receive a kind word or a note of appreciation, but it is rare that the author knows how this reflection or that book is informative to the reader and what the reader will ultimately do with the written work. This is simply the nature of publishing writings. The author is simply invited to offer the written work as a gift to another. It is not the author’s position to know what the reader will do with that gift or how that gift will shape the reader.

In my case, it is often that I remain unaware of how my reflections invite deeper reflection on the love of God made known in Christ. It is not for me to know how that is happening in the lives of the people who read my reflections. It is simply for me to continue to write, to continue to reflect on God’s love at work in my life and in the world around me, and to offer, on a really, really good day, a nugget of faith, hope, or/and love to those who happen to be reading. From time to time, I will hear from one person or another how this piece or that reflection invited the reader into deeper reflection on one topic or another.

The gift in written work is not the written work itself - at least not for me. The gift the author is giving to the reader is the gift of the author’s self. Through writing, an author is able to offer to the world where she is in this point in her life. She is able to offer to the world her gift of words as she reflects on something. Some might consider it a distant way of offering the self to the world, but I would say that it is no less vulnerable than standing in a room and speaking the same words. In the moment a work is published, the author is practicing vulnerability in a certain way as she publishes her thoughts for the world to encounter.

For most of the year, I offer a weekly reflection with the hope that people reading will find a small nugget of invitation to reflect on the Gospel and how God is inviting us deeper into God’s love. As with all things though, there is also a time for rest from even this practice. It is important to take the time to rest and to find refreshment in order that one might continue to offer the gift of the self through the medium of writing.

Thus, I will be taking a break from writing a weekly reflection for the next six weeks. I will return in the middle of August in my writing, and I pray that when I do, God will find a way to move through the words on the screen.

In Christ,

Hunter+