About: Imperfect Words

I love words. A well-chosen word and a clever turn of phrase give me a deep sense of satisfaction and a even little thrill. But beyond that, words move me and touch my soul in deep places. They challenge me and they do not leave me the same.  

Words hold growth and change.

Words are pieces of a puzzle fit together with care to form a picture, an emotion, a concept that you want to communicate. They reach out to the world and connect. They form bridges between people and draw eternal souls together.  

Words are relationship.

Words are clever and beautiful and profound. They delight, inspire, and move. Words make us laugh. They bring something to the world that was not there before. They create.  

Words are art.

Words define and give shape to nebulous feelings, images, and thoughts. Even if no one else ever sets eyes on them, words hold great value for the one who births them. The labor of finding and bringing forth the words that give structure and concrete form to elusive thought is its own reward, bringing a better understanding of oneself and the world. It is even a relief, scratching an itch that nearly drove you mad while your hands (or head) were too full to get to it.  

Words are tools. Words are work. Words are freedom.

I enjoy writing but I used to be haunted by this lurking sense that I needed permission to write. That I needed someone to validate my words as being of enough value to allow them out into the world. But a few weeks ago I had a revelation as I was reading a favorite author who remarked that writing is not an “exercise in scarcity.” Yes! There is always room for more growth, relationship, and beauty in this world.

We have been created in the image of our Creator as creative beings. It is written into our very DNA not only to enjoy the beauty with which our Maker has surrounded us, but also to produce – to join Him in the creative process. Of course our “products” are imperfect – that is a given and not, as I struggle to believe, something that should hold us back from creating. We are fallen creatures living in a fallen world and our labor produces fallen results, BUT we are being redeemed. Not only our souls, but our whole lives are being redeemed for God’s glory.

Though we exist as fragile, imperfect, made-of-dust vessels, we hold within us an imperfect image of the Perfect One who does not leave us as we are but is transforming us more and more into His likeness. And our innumerable imperfections? They even serve a purpose – “to show that this all surpassing power is from God and not from us.” (2 Cor. 4:7) "Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me. That is why for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses..." (2 Cor. 12:9b-10a)

So in this little spot of internet, amidst the myriad beautiful and powerful words that are out there, I bring my own imperfect words. Though they lack much, they grow me as they flow out of me, and I hope they will honor the Perfect One who indwells me, transforms me, and redeems my fallenness.