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Recorded somewhere in one of my high school journal entries is a word I was given, a picture someone had while praying for me. They said I was like a little bird caught in a thorn bush, beating my wings to escape. I needed to stop frantically thrashing and let God reach in and pull me out.

At the time, I had no understanding of how to “stop thrashing.” It was too abstract for me to implement. How exactly does the step-by-step procedure of “stop metaphorically thrashing” go?

It turns out there are many areas of my life where I have been thrashing myself against the brambles, and it is taking a great deal of time to sort them out. One such area has been my writing. Around age 11, I wrote a book review for a small class newsletter called The Homeschool Times. It was the first time I had ever seen my work in print, and I enjoyed the process of putting together words and submitting them for publication.

I began writing short journalism pieces, poems, riddles, and serial stories. After the class ended, I joined our church’s Youth Group newsletter staff and continued this activity. I also wrote stories at home, both for my own pleasure and for assignments. At age 13 I attended the Mount Hermon Christian Writer’s conference with Dad, presenting my short story, The Island of Bookadise for consideration. I am no longer surprised that it went nowhere, but it was good experience for me to submit writing for professional feedback.

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