Monday 1 July 2013

People Free....or not!


I thought I might go People-free, you know like Gluten-free or Diary-free.

The perfect answer to my allergy to friendship pain, don’t you think?

But alas, it isn't how God wants me to be. 

The writer of Hebrews reminds me not to give up the habit of meeting together with other believers…. I couldn't find the ‘even if they hurt you’ clause, and believe me, I searched for it!  
No amount of reading between the lines helped me to find any way of becoming People-free.
And besides, God has given me a heart that longs to give love to others, in person and in the written word.

Long ago, when I was a child, I discovered my love of writing.
My grandparents lived two hours away and so I often wrote them epistles of my life as a primary aged student. 
Looking back now, how they must have laughed at my missives!

As a school student I longed for the first Monday back after holidays (in the days when there was no such thing as a pupil-free day), on that Monday we always wrote the ‘what I did during the school holidays’ story. 
I didn't do anything terribly exciting, but I could imagine I did.  
And so a fantastic piece of work was written for the teacher to mark. 
I wonder if they ever really read them (apart from correcting mistakes) and said to themselves, this girl has talent!

Not only did I inherit the craft gene from my maternal grandmother, she also passed on to me the art of telling a good story. 
I can certainly regale listeners with a wonderful interpretation of what happened to me at work, or church or anywhere else I have been.
And so my crafting hobbies include knitting, crocheting, patchwork and taking the time to pen a good story.  I think they are good.

My husband is my biggest fan and he has urged me on from the sidelines of tapping away at my stories to put them in the public arena.
So that’s what I decided to do.

Well isn't that a shock?

Who would have guessed my manuscript was nothing to anybody but me!

(Nor did I realise the need for a professional editor).

It’s a tough world out there in publishing land. (Not new news really is it?)

The life experiences I have gathered do have need to be in the public arena, if I can save one person from hurt, disappointment or despair, I want to do it.

Self-publishing was where the Lord led me.  
              
We edited, re-edited and brought The Significant You and Me into the world.  
My book is a short read to give Christian women a little glimpse of how special we are to God.  Each one of us unique because of who God has made us to be, nothing to do with where we live, what we look like or how many ministries we have.  A splash of tips on how to get alone with God in the busy-ness of the daily workload is the way I rounded off my first piece of public writing.

My fiction is still simmering on the back burner.  With words being steamed out and others being added in slowly, all the while being stirred lovingly to bring about a delicious read for teenagers.

So People-free is absolutely not an option for me, I've got too much information, so many stories to share….and maybe something of all these things will help someone out, make them feel loved, shed light on their dark path and make a difference.

Dianne Riley

www.dianneriley.com.au 

Dianne lives in NSW with her fabulous husband and son.  A Christian for over forty years because of an amazing Religious Education teacher.  Dianne has taught RE (or skipcha, as the children call it) in local schools with great passion for over 25 years.

11 comments:

  1. Really enjoyed your post, Dianne, giving more of a glimpse into who you are. My husband can definitely attest to how much of a 'people-free' person I am! I'm very happy to hole up in my study and just write--but, like you, what is the point unless my books and I connect with people? By the way, huge congratulations on those 25 years of 'skipcha' teaching! Well done!

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  2. Thanks Jo-Anne
    ....25 years is a good number for sharing God with littlies isn't it?

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  3. Hi Dianne. I checked your interesting website. I used to be a Shire girl and lived on President Ave Gymea, but now am further west.
    I hope your book is used to bless women, it sounds special. God bless you for sharing.

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  4. Thanks Rita.
    The 'Shire' is a crazy place, where everyone seems to know someone who knows someone! Particularly in Christian circles!
    I am trusting God does bless girls who take a peek at what is in The Significant You and Me.

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  5. Thanks for sharing so much of yourself, Di. I can certainly identify with the desire for People Free days and I give them to my self regularly - and as a writer they're very necessary, but yes, the balance needs to be there. We are called to relate, connect and influence. We can do some of that by writing, but we also need to be God with flesh on for people, as Jesus was.

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    1. Hi Carol
      Balance is so hard to get right isn't it?

      Jesus did have some people-free time.....so I think getting the balance right is the plan for me!
      x

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  6. Hope your book does well for you and reached lots of women with your insights. What a blessing you must have been to lots of kids over 25 years.

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    1. Dale spending some love on the kids in the classroom has been one of the greatest joys of my life!

      thanks for your encouragement :-)

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  7. Hi Dianne,
    Thanks for your interesting post. I agree we writers like to be people-free sometimes but no - it is never an option is it? Besides people have so much to offer us that we would lose much of the richness in our lives without them. 'The Significant you ... and me' sounds a great book and I wish you well with it. God's challenging me this present season to give up some of my precious writing time - because He's planted me in a part time job where it's all about people.

    And you know what? Although it felt like a big sacrifice when I said 'Yes' to Him - I now find that I feel so fulfilled in the role - it is no sacrifice at all.I am loving it.

    Thank God for the richness of our relationships - and that we need each other.
    Blessings and thanks for sharing,
    Anusha

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    1. Anusha how good it is you are right where God wants you to be and doing what He is calling you to.....I love that place too!

      Life is such an incredible journey as we give love and receive love in relationships.....particularly when we find a kindred spirit (as Anne of Green Gables would say).

      I am glad for the Facebook and website friendships I have found through Christian Writers Downunder.....my life is definitely richer for this!
      X Di

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