Spreading Out Our Manuscripts by Emily Owen

"Will you do bedtime story?"

I love being asked this and, during half term week, on holiday with my family, I had the privilege of being asked it a few times.

So my nieces and nephews and I would curl up with a book, and share the story. A particular pleasure for me was seeing the way they became absorbed in the narrative, often looking up at me with delight when things were funny, and with empathy when things were sad.

(Ok, another pleasure was doing the voices!)

I am not usually a fan of reading aloud; the children are an exception. Whenever possible, be it during a talk or event or book launch, if I have a passage that needs reading aloud, I will ask someone else to read it for me.

Yesterday, however, I found myself reading aloud by choice.

When completing a manuscript, I like to read the entire thing aloud. I find it helps, not least in spotting errors hitherto missed. So I sat in my study by myself and read aloud.

I missed the children. I missed the connection. I missed the sharing.

Reading aloud is not meant to be done alone, I thought, as I had a chocolate-pause about two minutes in.

My eyes drifted to this card I have on my desk.

'Set your mind on things above…..where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.'

I wasn’t alone, God was with me, as He always is.

So I decided to read my manuscript to Him.

I felt a bit like King Hezekiah, in 2 Kings 19:14: ‘Hezekiah….spread it [a letter] out before the Lord.’

When reading aloud, it’s as though the words we read are, in a sense, spread out before our listeners.

Yesterday, as I read aloud, I spread my manuscript before God.

I shared it with Him, in all its highs and lows. And do you know what? He is an absolute pleasure to read to….

Why not try it?

With your fiction, non-fiction, blog, essay, whatever it may be.

Spread out your manuscript before your biggest encourager – God Himself.

I didn’t read the whole manuscript yesterday, I still have more to go. When I pick up where I – sorry, God and I – left off, I suspect I won’t be having a procrastination chocolate-pause two minutes in (I never have procrastination pauses when reading to the children, either).

I’ll be reading to the One who sees me sit down to read, and sits down beside me, ready to be read to.

Take my yoke upon you. 

Let me teach you, 

because I am humble and gentle at heart, 

and you will find rest 

for your souls.

Matthew 11:29