The Value of Encouragement

Two summers ago, I was hard at work on a research paper about Fort Stevens. It was my second research paper for that particular professor, so I knew I had to work hard for the A+ I so desired.  He was a stickler for good quality sources and proper punctuation in citations. He was probably one of my strictest professors, and I had him for two terms in a row. Although he was strict on the academic details, he was also kind when I reached out for help or had a question. And, most importantly for me, he chose to be an encourager.

When I received my grade from the first paper, I noticed that he said it was well-written. That was a complement, indeed, and I was thrilled, but didn’t really think about it much after that. I was just happy my professor was pleased with my work.

The next class I took from him was even harder and required me to write quite a lot. The paper was the final project, and I worked even harder, digging up sources, and taking notes, even taking a couple "field trips" to gather information. When it came time to write the paper, I spent the whole day in my room writing the draft. I usually could type up a pretty good paper in a couple hours, but this one had to be longer and the punctuation in the citations had to be perfect. I wanted an A+.

When I got my grade back, I was again delighted that my professor mentioned something about the paper being well-written. He was a historian, and I knew he could tell good writing when he saw it, so to be told by him a second time that something was written well made me think.

I’ve always enjoyed writing, and in college I would often breeze through my written assignments, enjoying the quest for just the right word or phrase.

My very first college professor (English 100) had encouraged each of us to start a blog for the purpose of practicing our writing. I had, but no thought of “being a writer” had ever occurred to me until that last round of college classes and that one professor who said my paper was well-written.

I don’t know why it sparked ambition in me –I’ve never been ambitious. But it did. I began to think seriously about being a history writer. I asked my professor if he thought my paper would be helpful to the historical society of the place I had written about, and he said he did. Then I began to think about other topics I could write about.  I didn’t have a degree in history, nor did I have anything else to recommend me except my research skills, but I knew I wanted to write, and history had always been a favorite topic of study.

Then the school year started, and I was too busy to think of doing any in-depth research projects. The months flew by in a flurry of schoolwork and ministry work. The next summer I researched the Tillamook Burn, but when it came to writing about it, I just didn’t seem to be able to begin.  Again, the school year intervened, and brought with it a busy schedule and the need to focus on what was before me. 

But as spring arrived, God shifted my plans about writing, and guided me to renew my efforts on this blog. He showed me that instead of writing about history, He wanted me to write about the things He was teaching me, and to focus my writing on truths from His Word. —And here we are.

This summer, I am a writer. Now, that doesn’t mean that writing is my “job” for which I get paid, (yet) but rather, that I have finally admitted that writing has been a part of me all along, and now I’m seeking to use that part of me for God’s glory as He directs. Lord willing, I will have two short works in print by the end of the fall, the first of which is that same research paper from the history class, and the other is a short devotional. There are several more books in the works already, and it has been so exciting to see just how far God has taken my writing in the last year.

And as I finish up this summer of "taking writing seriously", I have never been more grateful to that professor for his ministry of encouragement and the words God used to redirect me!

"And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and good works" (Hebrews 10:24)

—Dear reader, who is it that God wants you to encourage today?