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No Fish Stories: Write Your Testimony From Heart by Barbara Carr Phillips
When He had stopped speaking, He said to Simon, "Launch out into deep and let down your nets for a catch." But Simon answered and said to Him, "Master, we have toiled all night and caught nothing; nevertheless at Your word I will let down net." And when they had done this, they caught a great number of fish, and their net was breaking. (Luke 5:4-6 NKJV)
Sometimes I get really tired of talking to my little Beta fish, Bob. It's not that I don't enjoy his company. He never interrupts me, always has time to listen to my troubles, and keeps everything I say in complete confidence. But trouble with Bob is he never trusts me with any of his struggles. He just floats around in his little bowl as though he doesn't have a care in world.
Well, I've got news for you, Bob. Nobody's life is that perfect. I suppose I should be grateful for your listening ear. It's just hard to be real with a friend who seems to have it all together, all time.
Self-revelation is a necessary process when writing from heart. We have to earn trust of our readers for story to mean anything to them. I wish I could say it's easy to keep putting my life out there for anyone to read, but it isn't.
It's easier for me to say "we" instead of "I". I remember a phone conversation I had last winter with a good friend. She had buried her mother a few months prior to our conversation, and was struggling with her sister's terminal illness.
"We love you," I said, but I knew I didn't say enough.
"We love you," I repeated, "all of us do." Still, it sounded empty.
"I love you," I said, finally saying what I wanted to say first time.
Why was that so hard?
Because saying "we" puts me with gang, and I feel less vulnerable in a crowd. "I" puts me out there front and center with no one to hide behind. Getting close enough to my heart to write "I" of a difficult situation is a painful process.
