Write On

Today I finished reading A Grief Observed by C.S. Lewis. If you haven't gathered it from others posts I have written, I'm a pretty big fan of Lewis. I think he was one of the sharpest Christian thinkers in history, and he had an incredible understanding of human nature and a special knack for putting his thoughts into words. Many of his books present clear, thought-out arguments concerning some aspect of Christian belief and behavior. He typically wrote with the precision of a heart surgeon. However, A Grief Observed is different.

A Grief Observed is composed of several journal entries that Lewis wrote after his wife, Joy Davidman, died of cancer after they had been married for four years. It does not read with the organization that Lewis' other books do. Instead, it seems scattered. While his other books demonstrate the power of Lewis' incredible mind, this book gives a glimpse of his aching heart. In it, you find Lewis struggling with his faith. You see him doubting God. You sense the agony that he feels at his loss. He writes with brutal honesty and self-disclosure. This book is not the product of months sitting in an office, revising each paragraph so that it has the right flow. This is the product of a broken man pouring himself out as he pushes his pen to paper.

It is especially interesting to read A Grief Observed in connection with another of Lewis' books, The Problem of Pain. The Problem of Pain was published in 1940 and is a theological treatment of the existence of pain and evil in the world. In it, Lewis explains how pain is a necessary by-product of human free will, and he shows how God uses pain to bring his creatures back to him. While not written in a cold manner, The Problem of Pain comes from an objective position. In contrast, A Grief Observed comes from the trenches of grief. It's raw and uncensored. And when I stop to think about it, I am so impressed that a man like C.S. Lewis, a Cambridge professor and world-renown Christian writer, would reveal the tormented working of his soul by publishing such a book. The world is better off because he did so.

All of this has reminded me of the purpose in writing. In writing, we share life with others. A person may object, "But isn't it better to converse in person? Don't we share life together by actually spending time together?" And in some ways, I think this is true. There is no substitute for a face-to-face relationship. At the same time, however, writing does have it's place. I, for one, am a better writer than I am a conversationalist. Because of this, when I want another person to know that I sincerely mean what I say, I often write it. For me, speech can too often be flippant and instinctual. Writing, on the other hand, requires actual thought and attention. When we write, we have an opportunity to share together, to learn from one another, and to grow together.

However tacky it might be, I want to quote one of my earlier posts: "Life is a conversation." That's why I write. That's what this blog is all about. It's about engaging in conversation with those who care to join. It's about recognizing the fact that we were not made to hack our way through life alone, but that we are meant to navigate its paths together. It's about the truth that many people are smarter and more insightful than me, and that I need to hear their corrections and additions to my thinking. It's about making my life experiences about more than just me, but allowing them to somehow speak to others.

My encouragement to you, then, is simply to write. Put your pen to paper, or your fingers to keyboards. It doesn't matter if the end product is finely polished. It doesn't matter if you're presenting some ground-breaking concept that no one has ever ideated before. We need to converse. We need to learn from one another, in the good times and the bad. In the triumphs and the tragedies. I've come to realize that many of my best posts are ones that were written in times when I was having a rough go of things. I can trace my mental and emotional state through my words from the last three years. Sometimes I need to go back and hear from my younger and wiser self. And I know for sure that I need to hear from you too.

Final note: A few of my friends at Ozark that are in a worship band called Axios have just finished putting together an EP. They're really good, and you can check out their stuff here and buy their songs. Which I highly recommend you do.