Why I Am Writing Again
Craziness. To think anyone would want to know…to think you have a chance of reaching anyone in this world of a billion messages a second (or whatever)…to think you possibly have any hope of expressing that which is inexpressible. But not inaccessible. Dallas Willard told John Ortberg (two christians I admire): “Don’t hurry. “ So that’s what I’ve been trying to do, writing-wise. I don’t want to write for money or fame or ego or duty—I want to declare what is most clear and most precious to me. I’m at the point that I have to share what I’ve learned (always still learning)—interpret what I have observed—give credit where credit is due—or I’ll wither.
Love. Love God and your neighbor. Simplest formula ever. But all you have to do is concentrate on applying the formula into every moment of your daily existence, and it becomes the most complex, confounding, convoluted strategy imaginable. And yet, the formula always applies and always works. Try it for a day, try it for an hour—you’ll admit you fell short. No problem. Confess and press on to the upward calling. You always get to start again.
Humility. Man, I struggle with that one. Thinking I am humble is one of the most egocentric thoughts in thoughtdom. As soon as you try to be humble, pride is involved. I can’t master it—my sneaky self is always in there trying to improve his image. I think I’ve learned this much: you don’t get humility looking at yourself.
Hope. That might come out egotistical—that I hope I can help you. But I do. And how do I hope to help you? By inspiring you to do good. As I hope you inspire me. Goodness improves every situation. It is doable every moment of your life. If you’re not doing good, you’re preparing to do it. Even if you’re not doing anything, you can pray (or think positive thoughts, if you prefer) for others. And it will always have its effect—good will promote more good. It’s the secret to changing the world.
Obedience. I’ve had trouble with that word my entire christian walk. The thought lurks within my inner self: no one can tell me what to do. God never tells me what to do. He only points me in the direction of what I should do. I got a Facebook notification recently, in response to one of those “Name a teacher who affected your life” kind of surveys. A former student wrote “Mine was…Dallin Malmgren. Saved my life. Literally. Love him and all teachers who truly connect with kids.” She had written an autobiography in my creative writing class which indicated she was suicidal. Call it an instinct or an intuition or the voice of God—I intervened. She got treatment and got better. (This is not to toot my own horn—I suspect that I probably ignored tons of other cries for help in the course of my career.) But in that case I believe I listened to God and it helped someone. Now I believe God wants me to write again. I’m listening.
Finally, diversity. I gotta do more than just play golf.
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