Is God Happy? How Writing My Memoir Answered This Question by Wendy Macdonald
Posted by Kathleen Pooler/@kathypooler with Wendy Macdonald/@wendylmacdonald
“When reading or writing memoir, we reap the blessings of a bird’s-eye view.”
Photo Credit: Wendy Macdoanld
I am very pleased to feature Christian writer, poet and nature photographer Wendy Macdonald in this post about how writing her memoir led her out of the abyss of abuse and into the light.Wendy and I met on Twitter. I have enjoyed following Wendy’s thoughtful “Daily Bread-type” reflections about faith and life. Wendy is currently editing her memoir about overcoming shame.
Welcome, Wendy!
Christian writer, poet and nature photographer Wendy Macdonald
Is God Happy? How Writing My Memoir Helped Me Answer This Question
Writing my memoir helped me answer the question, “How can God possibly be happy when so many unhappy things are going on in the world?”
In Genesis it says that God created this planet, outer space, and all of life within six days; God said it was good. When Adam and Eve broke fellowship with God, by disobeying His commandment not to eat forbidden fruit, things turned bad. And depending on your worldview, you could say things haven’t gotten any better since sin entered Eden.
Sometimes my mind slips into my own past where I witnessed hurts perpetrated against me and by me. I wondered how God could have watched without intervening. I wondered how He could suffer seeing others suffer. I wondered how He could stand not to stop abuse and neglect from painting dark skies over the lives of the defenseless. Those black clouds often caused victims to latch onto destructive addictions in search of a light to lead them out of their pain and shame. I know this can happen—because it happened to me.
Praise God, He eventually led me into His marvelous Light after I hit the bottom of my black hole.
While writing my first memoir draft, I was given—a gift—a glimpse of God’s worldview. And I wouldn’t have received it without having spent days, weeks, and months forging through the sludge and slurry of my memories. I wrote about events spanning a dozen years of my life. It spread out before me like a physical map. I saw sloughs of despond; I saw oases I didn’t want to leave; I saw mountains that needed climbing; and I saw glimpses of a river I would one day be blessed to cross.
Photo Credit : Wendy Macdonald
I saw that decade of my life with a bird’s-eye view.
It was painful to revisit some parts of it. Scrutinizing memories with a magnifying glass is dangerous because we risk losing perspective if we don’t switch back to a wide-angle lens, for fear and anxiety can strangle one’s peace.
I’m glad I endured that journey into my past, because it unveiled more hope than hurt. I saw a golden thread of Providence blanket-stitched all the way through and around it. The frayed edges of me were held in place by God’s grace, and He refined my faith into gold because the blanket of my past is a patchwork of events with which He wrote my salvation story.
God’s a happy God because He’s got a macro and wide-angle lens view of eternity. His worldview isn’t gloomy—it’s glorious. He knows the end of the story while we’re experiencing the saggy middle, drowning depths, or exhilarating victories. He sees, He knows, and He plans for all of it to be used for good. He’s not depressed by visions of the oppressed because a revision of all things is coming when the first shall be last and the last shall be first.
God’s happy-ending worldview keeps His holy face glowing brighter than the sun that’s counting the days, weeks, or months ‘til Christ’s return.
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Thank you, Wendy for sharing how your faith helped you find a pathway out of the depth of your suffering and into the light. Keep us posted on your memoir.
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Writer’s Bio:
Wendy L. Macdonald is an inspirational writer, blogger, and podcaster who also loves to photograph nature on Vancouver Island. Besides writing and gardening, Wendy enjoys hiking with her husband. She homeschooled their three children and she believes years of reading classics aloud developed her love of storytelling. She hopes you’ll visit her “Daily Bread” style Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram. Her byline is: My faith is not shallow because I’ve been rescued from the deep. Samples of her photography have been included in the 2017 Canadian anthology: Good Grief People. Her main website is wendylmacdonald.com where she enjoys interacting with readers. She’s currently editing her first memoir with aspirations of having it traditionally published.
Contact Information:
Website: http://www.wendylmacdonald.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/greenlightlady/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wendyl.macdonald/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/wendylmacdonald
Hope Stream Radio; Walking with Wendy: https://soundcloud.com/wendy-l-macdonald
Photo Credit: Wendy Macdonald
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How about you? Did you gain a helpful perspective of your past when you wrote your memoir? And if you haven’t written a memoir yet, has Wendy’s post encouraged you to start writing yours? She hopes so.
Let us know what you’re thinking. Please join in the conversation below.
This Week:
May 2017 Newsletter: Updates, Memoir Musings and Max Moments:
“The Sweet Land of Acceptance”
Next Week:
Monday, 6/5/17:
“The Role of Mindfulness and Memoir Writing in Healing”
