Challenges by Sheila Johnson
I often think of myself as a bit of a coward. I like to keep within my comfort zone. Although I enjoy watching Formula 1 racing, I don't like driving fast or being driven fast. I enjoy walking and can walk up to five miles on a road or a field in the country. However, walking down a steep, rocky terrain is well outside of my comfort zone. When my husband, Angus and I first went to Crete seven years ago, we attempted the very challenging ten mile descent of Samaria Gorge. Needless to say, we failed, or rather, I failed and Angus, being the faithful husband he is, returned with me.
This year we returned to Crete. Angus was determined to conquer the Samaria Gorge this time, and on his own, he did. However, he challenged me to do the lesser Imbros Gorge, five miles of steep, rocky terrain instead of ten, and at some places (fewer in the end than we thought!) the terrain we much leveller. I accepted the challenge, although you can see as I realise how steep the first descent is, the uncertainty shows on my face.
It was tough. Towards the end I had to imbibe Ibuprofen just to go on, my back and legs were that sore. Then just a little further on, while Angus was checking the map, I was so tired I fell against a rock - I still have the bruise on my hip - only to find myself winched up by a big, burly German man. Quite an experience!
Writing can also be a very frightening process, especially having the courage to show your work to friends and family, or even more daunting to a professional publisher. It's a bit like opening up part of your soul to the perusal of others. But we are a Christian organisation and we are all in the same position of having to be brave to show our work to others. Maybe though someone can come alongside us, like the big, strong man, and lift us up when we fall down or feel discouraged?
In conclusion, we did finally get to the end of the gorge and see the sea and the road ahead of us. You can see the joy and relief on our faces.
Well done for completing the challenge and stepping out of your comfort zone. There are some wonderful analogies here; we all need an Angus or a burly German sometimes.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Brendan. Yes we do, ha, ha.
ReplyDeleteA lovely analogy between the walking challenge and the challenge of getting our writing out there!
ReplyDeleteLovely encouraging post. I don't feel quite so silly and isolated now, reading this blog. Thankyou.
ReplyDeleteWe all have our burly German men. Mine was a Year 7 student at a high school where I gave a talk yesterday who said something so lovely that it kept me going. Life has been terribly hard of late, but reading encouraging blogs like yours, Sheila, and knowing that we are not alone, is such a comfort. Thank you for sharing with us.
ReplyDeleteThe biggest challenge of having a contract is, of course, the next book they ask you to write - within a year! Thankfully we're not trying to climb or descend in order to do it again, only within narrower limits! Great analogy, though.
ReplyDeleteEnjoyed this piece, Sheila. So true that writing is like opening up part of your soul. Also true that we are here to support eachother. Thank you
ReplyDeleteLovely post. Thanks! I can imagine how immensely helpful the 'big burly German' was. I felt the comfort here just by the way you described him! We bless our God for ways He comes out to help us in our life situations and in our writings. Even though we are vulnerable sending our books out, reviews come out of them that offer confidence, comfort and courage. God bless you Sheila.
ReplyDeleteJust read: "You must have the qualities of salt among yourselves" (Mark 9:50). For me, that means teasing out each other's latent flavour: encouraging others regarding their strengths, stimulating them to put their talents to good use and sometimes winching them up (lovely expression, Sheila!) when they flounder. We can all help each other.
ReplyDeleteBrilliant analogy and thank you for the reminder that we need to keep going through the hard bits.
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