The statement caught me off guard.

I was among a group of strangers, a common phenomenon with my everlasting love of workshops. Whether in writing, spiritual direction, dreamwork, leadership group, photography circle, spiritual retreats, DOK, or you name it, I love workshops.

Our group was given the theme of rebirth and renewal and how we could find these in our creative life. A lady in the group wanted to write again. I asked if she was interested in blogging. You know, just to get back into the practice of writing.

She shook her head. “Oh, no. Bloggers are just whiners.”

If I could be given any superpower, it would be the desire to hide my reactions better. My face tells people what I think before I ever say anything. I’m terrible at poker. My eyebrows shot up, my mouth dropped open and my face registered surprise. Another lady in the group noticed this and asked, “You are a blogger, aren’t you?”

I recovered and held up my cup as if I was giving a toast. “I am in the Whiners Club.”  The lady who made the comment apologized and was sure I was the exception. I waved it away. I appreciated people who were forthright and spoke their mind.

Her comment stayed with me though. I wondered why the lady was motivated to say such a thing. How had that become her truth? Then I wondered, “Oh, no. Is she right? Have I been whining all this time!?”

Then another thought occurred to me. “It is the sharing of our stories that save us.” It was the voice of one of my mentors from the Wisdom Tree Collective.  Amy’s motto. This felt more right to me.

We all have stories to share. We are not alone in our struggles. Sharing our stories builds connection. And the very act of telling our struggles has a healing power I didn’t expect when I started blogging.

I often write what I need to hear the most. If I need some courage, I will research and talk about courage. If I need some hope, I fill myself up with hope. Often, I find what resonated with me resonates in someone else. I’ve been asked, “How did you know I needed a message of hope this week?“

I know because I needed the message of hope.

For example, I need a reminder to reread my own blog posts. I wrote to Take Time to Trust in the Slow Work of God and then woke up the next day worrying.

I started to worry about household finances. Did I sign that permission slip? What should I write about next? What should I post on social media?

Then I started questioning my worth. Am I creative enough? Smart enough? Am I brave enough?

I was going on about my morning as I made coffee and was fixing breakfast with these thoughts filling my mind. Then I realized what my mind was doing. I had to take a deep breath. I practiced some affirmations and turned my thoughts around. I had to remind myself to put my trust in God.

It’s also important for me to stay true to myself and trust in my own abilities and choices. The most important opinion of myself is my own.

Am I a whiner? Possibly. But I need reminders of God’s love. Repeatedly. And that is okay. God supplies grace sufficient enough to pursue and remind me. I will write whatever I am called to write, and hopefully this makes me “the exception”.

Thought, Word & Deed

A weekly newsletter by Katie Rea.