Imagine!

In February, I attended a one day course at the NSW Writers’ Centre entitled ‘Remembering Your Creativity’, run by Sue Woolfe. I had not had the luxury of being a writer for a whole day for quite a while and revelled in it all. Sue began by taking us back to our childhood and the creative things we did then. That set the tone for the various writing exercises that followed, when we were encouraged to write freely and let our imaginations run wild, just as we did as children.

What a gift our imaginations are to us as writers—and also as readers! Once we close off the more reasoning part of our brain and let ourselves step over the threshold into that wonderful world of our creative imagination, we can experience all sorts of other worlds and events firsthand, so to speak. And once we choose to let ourselves write that way, we can open the door for others to take their own journeys of discovering more about the world around them, about themselves—and perhaps even about God.

I have also found my God-given imagination so valuable in reading Scripture—in particular, the Gospel narratives. Recently, I have been reading through John’s Gospel again. Now we are in the middle of selling our home, so there are lots of extra jobs to do and big decisions to make. Yet I wanted to stay focussed on God, as Easter approached, even though the first of our ‘open house’ days was looming. And that’s when I became so thankful for my God-given imagination once again and for the many opportunities I have had, in writing my novels and non-fiction, to exercise it.

You see, as I read John 13, without much conscious effort, I found myself right in that upper room with Jesus as he washed the disciples’ feet. I almost felt the water pouring over my own and the rough fabric of the towel, as Jesus dried them. I heard Peter’s panic, as he objected to joining in. In verse 21, I felt Jesus’ pain and was moved by the sadness in his voice when he said, ‘I tell you the truth, one of you is going to betray me.” In John 18, I sensed Peter’s deep shame, that moment those words of denial left his lips and the rooster crowed. In John 19, I imagined how Jesus’ mother must have felt when her dying Son spoke so tenderly to her from the cross, ‘Dear woman, here is your son’, and to the other disciple present, ‘Here is your mother.’ And in John 20, I revelled in Mary’s joy, as she heard the man she assumed was the gardener speak her name and realised it was the Lord. What an amazing moment! And what a privilege it was to be able to imagine myself there and to know God’s Spirit was somehow part of the whole process as well.

So today as you read, I wonder if you too can revel in that God-given imagination of yours again, just as you did as a child. And as you write, may you lose sight of yourself in the whole process and create with joy, aware that God’s own creative Spirit is working in and through you, bringing those words to life.

Jo-Anne Berthelsen lives in Sydney but grew up in Brisbane. She holds degrees in Arts and Theology and has worked as a high school teacher, editor and secretary, as well as in local church ministry. Jo-Anne is passionate about touching hearts and lives through the written and spoken word. She is the author of six published novels and two non-fiction works, ‘Soul Friend’ and ‘Becoming Me’. Jo-Anne is married to a retired minister and has three grown-up children and four grandchildren. For more information, please visit www.jo-anneberthelsen.com.

So different!

Twice recently, I have been reminded in no uncertain terms about how different we all are as authors. In earlier years, this would have caused me to feel so inferior. Was I on the right track? Surely those other authors had found a better way of going about things? Now, however, I realise it’s okay and, in fact, quite natural that we should be such a diverse bunch!

A few weeks ago, I saw this diversity clearly displayed when I visited the NSW Writers’ Centre for their 25^th birthday celebrations. I had been selected as one of five winners of a writing competition and was there to collect my prize. We had been required to write about an experience of being at the Centre—an easy topic for me because, at once, a conversation I had years ago with a young writer during an emerging writers’ festival there came to mind. Here is a portion of what I wrote:

 ‘So ... have you enjoyed the sessions so far?’

‘Oh, yes!’ I lie. ‘How about you?’

‘Not really. They were mostly geared towards finding a publisher.’

‘That’s a shame ... are you already published then?’

At this point, he looks at me full on, horrified. What sort of blunder have I made? Was my question plain offensive to him? Perhaps he is some famous author I should have recognised.

‘No way!’ he blurts out at last. ‘Do you really want to be published?’

I am stunned. Of course I do!  Why would I not? Why go to all that trouble of spending months, even years, writing something others will never read? Yet this young man seems deeply disturbed by the whole idea.

As I chatted with a young woman at the birthday celebrations and told her what I had written, however, I heard a vastly different response.

‘I was at a writers’ festival like that too and, at one session, this publisher told us that, out of the fifty of us there, only one would find a publisher. Straight up, I decided, ‘That person is going to be me!!’

Her confidence and joyful expectancy was so refreshing to hear that I laughed out loud.

My second experience of such diversity occurred at the recent Omega Writers’ Conference. Three other authors and I had finished taking our turns on a panel and it was time for questions. Someone asked about book promotion and a spirited discussion ensued.

‘I remember how freeing it was to discover not every author has to blog,’ one panel member declared, ‘because I hate blogging! I keep thinking I could be writing more books, rather than wasting time adding to the mountain of words already out there in blogs everywhere!’

A few moments later, I had to add my bit.

‘Er ... um ... I really love blogging! I write a personal blog each week and link it to Facebook. I find it a great way to connect with people.’

In the end, we all laughed.

Yes, we are diverse bunch—and that’s wonderful! Let’s not be put off by others or jealous of them. Let’s celebrate our differences. Let’s learn from one another but also be true to ourselves and to God. God has gifted each one of us differently and we can each impact our readers in a way no one else can. 

Jo-Anne Berthelsen lives in Sydney but grew up in Brisbane. She holds degrees in Arts and Theology and has worked as a high school teacher, editor and secretary, as well as in local church ministry. Jo-Anne is passionate about touching hearts and lives through both the written and spoken word. She is the author of six published novels and one non-fiction work, Soul Friend: the story of a shared spiritual journey. Jo-Anne is married to a retired minister and has three grown-up children and four grandchildren. For more information, please visit www.jo-anneberthelsen.com.