Putting myself out there......
On July 20th, my 48th birthday, after much encouragement from my wife and children (and a few of you all), I am, after a lifetime of writing, putting my work out there through a Poetry Site I have been working on for sometime. (I will launch the Site then and will share the Link at that time.)
As someone who has struggled with deep depression and even suicidal thoughts for most of my life, as someone who has struggled with "secular and sacred" divisions in my heart, and has been unable to escape the weight of this "cold, wet, miserable world", I want to speak out for those, like me, who feel so very alone in the Cave. I want them to know that they are not Alone and that even on the darkest days, there is a "firefly tapping on the window", sent by the Father of Lights who withholds no good thing from those He has created.
This site is for those who are struggling just to stay above water, who feel like there is no where to turn, feel that God is far off and doesn't care; it is for those, like me, who are just trying to make it 15 more minutes. It is for those who have lost loved ones to Suicide and for those contemplating Suicide.
Generosity, in greatest practice, is the giving up of ones self for the sake of those needing help, hope, and strength. No one has done this better than Jesus and I want to follow Him in giving my self up for others.
I have always dreamed of being a writer, a poet, a film maker, but have allowed fear to hinder me. Too concerned with what others would think of me, I have neglected my own Tribe of people...the very ones that I belong to and want to speak to and for. I am not one who has made it out of the Cave....in this life I don't expect to. The Groanings within me have become gifts to me, equipping me to come alongside others within this broken world.
I am also working on a Series of Children's Stories for those little ones (of all ages) who are still scared of the dark, the creaking on the stairs, the monsters under the bed. I believe that a Poet can go where a Priest and a Garda cannot, and I mean to be a man who labors, with the rest of my days, to "light the lanterns of fireflies" so that little children can have a bit of light on their nightstands.
For now, I humbly ask for your prayers. This is a very difficult thing for me to share (my writings) but it is needed, at the least, for me to go 15 more minutes. Pray for those who are lost out there to find there way to the site and that they would find (as I am seeking) endurance, encouragement, and hope. That they would learn to Look to Christ, the One who has gone before us.
To all of you out there who feel like you belong to the Tribe of the Miserable, the Good Shepherd is coming for you. I am proof of this.
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