Life is unpredictable. A giant understatement, right? Life and reality come at us in various ways. The current can be quick and strong, and the tides can be ferocious. All of a sudden, it’s back to steady and unsurprising. Our longing for personal interaction and community can ebb and flow with the tides of our life, but regardless of the season, we need others.
No matter the stage of your writing path, you can spend loads of time on your own. Whether a new writer, a dabbler here and there, or a seasoned blogger and published author, it’s easy to let life continue on. As if a surprise, you find the waves of life crashing in, and the realization comes that you don’t have or don’t see friends anymore. The strong connections you had with others has dissipated and you feel separated.
About two years ago, my family moved across the country to a new city and state. It was an entirely new environment and we didn’t know anyone. This was thrilling for us to say the least. Not only a new experience for me and my husband, but also a joint response to the calling that God had put on our hearts in moving. We had no idea what storms would be in store for us the following year.
Shortly after moving, I knew I needed to find new people and a new tribe to belong to. For me, this came as a twofold punch. First, being in a new land, I began to pray. I prayed for friends and a writing community. I prayed to learn and grow as a writer. The second “punch” was to actually declare that I was a writer/blogger, and I searched online via social media to find writers and writing groups in my area.
Additionally, I began to tell people at my church that I was a writer and started meeting other writers. Turns out many of us share in this loneliness battle, plus the challenge of setting apart time to actually write. A few of us gals decided to start a weekly writing group together. We committed time each week to work on our individual projects. What began as a fun idea became a beautiful combination of writing and friendship.
We each needed the accountability of a dedicated writing time, other minds to share ideas with, and though we didn’t know it yet, we needed each other. Our little group grew closer as friends as we met weekly in my home for 2-3 hours. We started our time with a check in to see how our week had been, and one of us would pray before writing began. It was marvelous. I looked forward to our weekly meetings with a smile in my heart.
Over the past year, we have worked. We have written. There have been days where we talked more, wrote less, and it was necessary. Together, we have flourished, and we have failed. More importantly, we have lived. Life has had its way with each one of us. Personally, I lost my infant son, and these women have walked with me though my grieving. Storms have come into each of our lives throughout the year in the form of illness, surgeries, single-parenting, family hardships, health struggles, faith challenges and brokenness. We have carried our burdens together and all the while, have overcome great things as writers and believers.
Our little group just celebrated its first anniversary. As we have reflected on this past year, we’ve seen goals met and unmet and have laid out our vision for the new year. We have purposed to continue on this journey together. We all know, somehow, that we need each other. We don’t have to write, or live, alone.
When you consider the busyness of your life – a home, job, maybe kids, hobbies, and the storms that always come, as a declared writer you must still find ways to cultivate fellowship. Specifically, seek others like you who understand and relate to what you do and who can offer support in various ways. We all need community.
Author | Jenna Crenshaw
Jenna Crenshaw is a wife and mama who has personally seen the miraculous redemption of Jesus in her life. While staying busy with her six-year-old daughter and adventuring outdoors with her husband, Rob, Jenna spends her days making healthy homemade food, reading, writing, gardening in the summer, and practicing her guitar.
With a heart to continually bring the truth in love to women, Jenna refuses to compromise in her calling to bring faith and wholeness to women of any age. We are ministering to our whole being, “TheWholeProject”. She and her husband write and speak to individuals and groups on relationships and what it looks like and means to walk in purity. We deal with the whole person as an individual before Christ, and each as a project being worked on by the Master. We are #TheWholeProject.
Jenna is currently blogging with her husband at robandjennacrenshaw.com, and recently on a personal blog at jennacrenshaw.wordpress.com. Find Jenna on Instagram at @jenna.crenshaw, and at her ministry’s page, @robandjennacrenshaw.
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