Write Our Way Through || Ashley White

“Writing and prayer are both a form of love and love takes courage.” - Pat Schneider 

A few years ago a friend gifted me a journal. Personally, when I shop for my own, I always make sure there are lines on the blank pages that await me. This journal did not meet that preference - which terrified me.

Recently, I looked through this old journal. What I found was lines of dreams, ideas, songs, and plans that turned into realities. Maybe it wasn’t as pretty and cohesive to look at - but by visuals alone, I saw change. Something about a lack of structure on the paper underneath my pen opened the door for my head and heart to meet in a way they hadn’t in a while. I saw a writer learning to own her confidence and befriend her own voice.

It takes great courage and loyalty to self to show up and write... to write honestly, to write hopefully, and to write in uncertainty.

There were lines before 2020 happened…
Plans. Norms. Expectations.

My voice had to change and step back to try to find its place amidst all that overwhelmed me. Much of the time, my voice fell silent. As I reflect and step into a new year, I put my pen to paper and, though the lines of life have blurred, I do find freedom on the blank page. I see a voice that has learned to claim hope in uncertainty and to lead her inner critic into safety rather than insecure exile. I do not write with fear, but I write with love, and in that - I grow. That is the power of writing, isn’t it?

The past year has changed our voices, but not silenced them.
This coming year will continue to change our voices.
What I think is most important is that we use this growth as a means to connect and move forward.
As you learn your voice, you learn to listen closer to others’ voices.

Here’s an invitation:
to lean into the freedom of a blank page.

Together, we write our way through.