Show Me the Way
by Diana Derringer
“Show me the way I should go, for to you I entrust my life”
(Psalm 143:8, NIV).
Written words have filled me with joy for as long as I can remember. My parents treasured reading, and we spent hours devouring books, magazines, and newspapers. We also played word games and helped keep paper, pencil, and crayon manufacturers in business.
However, writing for publication never crossed my mind. One brief high school Christmas story in our local newspaper and a couple of devotions to a church bulletin service following college graduation completed my writing resume for years. I still wrote, but primarily for work, family, and church.
After my retirement as a social worker, I started writing again for church bulletins. I also tweaked and submitted monologues and poems I had written for church services, backyard Bible clubs, and mission trips. Although initially a hobby, the more I wrote, the more I loved to write.
My primary post-retirement plans revolved around international mission trips, but life circumstances brought those to a screeching halt. A friend introduced the need for friendship families to host international university students. Opening our home enabled us to share love and faith with people around the world— an unexpected international mission opportunity.
One student’s request for a daily slang expression and its definition led to my blog, Words, Wit, and Wisdom: Life Lessons from English Expressions. Posts explain the meaning of unusual English expressions for people with a non-English background. Readers with English as their primary language also enjoy the wordplay and devotional thoughts – continued missions outreach.
At a writer’s conference, I learned of the need for Christian radio drama writers. As part of an all-volunteer team, my dramas are translated for and broadcast into areas where missionaries cannot go, and persecution remains a way of life. More people now have access to these dramas than could have been reached in a lifetime of short-term mission trips.
By opening my eyes and offering my skills to God’s leadership, I discovered mission moments beyond my greatest expectations.
Opportunities for using our writing talents often present themselves unexpectedly. Preparation, both spiritually and craft-wise, will allow us to seize them to impact our circles of influence and beyond.
Thank you, God, for ministry opportunities, planned and unexpected. I’m grateful for the way you transform difficulties into opportunities. Amen.
Diana Derringer, a former social worker and adjunct professor, is author of Beyond Bethlehem and Calvary: 12 Dramas for Christmas, Easter, and More! Hundreds of her articles, devotions, dramas, planning guides, Bible studies, and poems appear in more than 40 publications. Her radio dramas for Christ to the World Ministries broadcast into several countries. Connect with her at dianaderringer.com.