Strength for the Journey

 

I will be,

I will be,

I will be,

Strength

For the journey.

-       Michael John Poirier, “Strength for the Journey”

Hello there, reader.

How are you today? And I’m not asking in the casual way we use as a greeting, that way that really doesn’t require an answer. I mean, how are you really?

What’s weighing on your heart?

How can I serve you?

See, the task of pinning down my niche as a writer is a really difficult one, and I was hoping you could help me out. What do you need? Or rather, what do you need that I can give to you?

I want to give you hope. Encouragement. Inspiration. Support. Love. So far these are what I keep coming back to, but they’re not quite specific enough, are they? Who do I mean to encourage? And about what do I hope to encourage them?

I’ve been so hesitant to narrow and define my niche because I don’t want to turn anyone away if they’re immediately thinking, “That’s not me.” In recent months, I’ve begun regarding my writing as a ministry. And if ministry is service, then I want to serve… well, everyone! I want to write for everyone.

But I don’t know how to do that, because there are people with infinite experiences and struggles different from my own that I couldn’t speak to without feeling like a fraud. I don’t, for example, know what it’s like to be a mother or an athlete or a movie star or a musician. So I don’t write about those things, and instead I opt to “write what I know,” but still I feel, at only 24 years young, I can’t write about anything with the authority and wisdom born from experience.

But nonetheless, here’s what I do know:

I know a road paved with uncertainty, where trepidation and anxiety and fear of the future drip from the leaves over my head. I know straightaways that continue for miles and bends that come out of nowhere; I know streams to quench my thirst; I know rocky ascents and peaceful, flower-filled meadows, and God’s hand at my back, always. But mostly I know the relentless tug of wondering if I’m moving in the right direction, if I should have taken a different road. Would another path be easier than the one I’m on right now? And how do I learn to love the one God’s lighting for me, one bit at a time?

I hope that when I tell my stories, you see something of my journey in yours. Although the paths we walk are inherently different, they’re also the same – well-trodden with familiar fears and anxieties, missteps and stumbles, the generations who came before us, and those who walk beside us now to remind us we’re not alone. If you are looking for a companion as you walk your road, I want to be that for you.

I want to be your strength for the journey: the lifelong journey to understanding your self-worth, God’s infinite and unconditional love for you, your purpose, and the kind of intentional, love-filled life you yearn to live.

I will be,

I will be,

I will be,

Strength

For YOUR journey.

 

***

How can I be strength for your journey? What do you need today? Prayers, love, encouragement? Let me know in the comments below. :)