When I was about 12 years old, my parents talked to me about how great the writers in the bible were. They told me about Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Paul, and many others. I remember thinking, “I want my writing to be so good that it goes in the Bible!” I told my parents this, and they begin to explain to me how you have to be very special and chosen by God to be able to have your writing in the Bible. Now I understand the canonization and how things are no longer added to the bible. All my life, I have loved to write. I have about ten full journals of letters to God about my life. I started writing in the 6th grade and have done it ever sense. I don’t write as often anymore because I’m in college and have academic writing to do, I am an English major after all. But when I get a spare moment, I write. Writing is also my response to many emotions such as sadness (usually poems), happiness, anger, frustration (these often result in 3-page papers), and amazement to name a few. I still wonder if I’ll ever be as good of a writer as I dreamed I would be in 6th grade but I know God has put this desire in my heart for some reason. Around the 6th or 7th grade I went to Fort Caswell, a Christian summer camp, with my youth group. At the end of the week, they asked everyone who felt a call to ministry to go outside. Lots of people went outside and knew that God had called me to write to reach others for him, I went too. My parents had always encouraged me to write, telling me that it would reach others for Christ. Once we were outside, they divided people into groups of the areas of ministry they were called too. “Okay, go over there if you feel called to be a senior pastor, over there if you want to be a youth pastor, over there if you want to be a children’s pastor, and over there if you feel called to missions” one camp counselor told everyone. Everyone began to go to their respective places, but I was confused. I didn’t feel called to any of that; I felt called to be a writer and to reach others for the kingdom of God through it. I raised my hand and asked the camp counselor, “What if you feel called to be a writer?” “Uh… you can just go with missions I guess” he replied, I had caught him off guard. I was mad. Why was there a group for everything except writing? My parents had told me that it was good to write and reaffirmed my calling when I let them read what I wrote. Why did the rest of the world not recognize that writing deserved a “calling” group too? Yeah, writing is not a profession you see within the church as the youth, children, and senior pastor or missions but why not? I mean Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, and Paul must have dedicated a lot of time to writing, and God inspired them. Why can’t people still be inspired to write by God today? I think they are. Don’t get me wrong, there are some writers out there who declare God inspires them but once you read their stuff you see they are not inspired by God, at least not by your God. But there are writers out there who God inspires. He puts stories on their hearts just like I think he has put one on mine. The world and even the church may not recognize writing as a calling, but it is my calling. I may never even get paid for my writing, but that doesn’t matter if I’m reaching people for Christ. If you feel like you are called to write, then write. Even if you think it sucks and even if no one reads it but you. Some of the greatest writings weren’t found until after the author had already died. So, write. Write until your fingers bleed and you can’t feel the tips of them anymore from typing. There were times that I doubted my calling and doubted that it could even be considered a calling. I’ve told myself “It’s just a hobby” too many times to count, but it’s about this time that God lays another story to share in my heart. My work may never get published but I know I’m doing what God has called me to do when I write, even if the rest of the church doesn’t recognize it.