A Gardener of Thought

A few updates:

• I finally got my Shakespeare class put into my schedule. I started today with Macbeth, which is both a new and familiar play at the same time. The first time I read that play was at two in the morning, which does not come with a Paradox seal of approval.
• I founded the Shakespeare Society, and the first meeting is tomorrow after school. Needless to say, I. Am. Excited!
• I had my first meeting with the school publications class. As soon as I introduced myself as the editor, the hostility could have smacked me in the face. But by the time the meeting was over, we all left with the saccharine flavor of opportunity in our mouths. I just sent an e-mail full of writing and logistical proposals to the supervisor. After Shakespeare Society, I have to meet with her to hear her feedback and to put the production of our first paper into motion.
• I am writing application essays for my intended colleges. I should mention that 300 words or less is an art form I have yet to master. I think if I approach them as poetry without the elaborate metaphors, I will be in better shape.
• And on top of everything else, I wrote a talk on heeding prophetic council, which I gave this past Sunday. The talk I wrote and outlined, and the talk I actually gave were a little dissimilar. The spirit does not like my outlines, but you will not hear me complaining.
  
• The best news: I was contacted by an editor from the Online NewsHour with Jim Lehrer on PBS. Their student site, NewsHour Extra, will feature an editorial written by yours truly about the Romney campaign. (Thanks again to John over at Exceedingly Curious for being the world's best proofreader!)

As you can see, I have been deeply involved with language in both verbal and written form. Because of that fact, I am loving every minute of my life these days. Reading, writing, and public speaking have always been branches on the same tree for me; and consider that metaphor. The world is full of trees of every variety (genre), and each has their specific needs (research), as well as survival needs (carefully crafted rhetoric and a lasting message). How well these trees are taken care of will determine whether or not their fruit is consumable by humanity. Pruning and careful preparation (editing and revision) are essential to a healthy final product. In that sense, I consider myself a gardener of thought.

As a part of my seminary studies, I was reading Moses 6, and the following passage caught my attention:

32 And the Lord said unto Enoch: Go forth and do as I have commanded thee, and no man shall pierce thee. Open thy mouth, and it shall be filled, and I will give thee utterance, for all flesh is in my hands, and I will do as seemeth me good.

33 Say unto this people: Choose ye this day, to serve the Lord God who made you.

34 Behold my Spirit is upon you, wherefore all thy words will I justify; and the mountains shall flee before you, and the rivers shall turn from their course; and thou shalt abide in me, and I in you; therefore walk with me.

From my college application essays, I have been asking the question, "What makes me different from all of the others that look exactly like me? What makes me special?"

The difference in my writing is that I know who the tree really belongs to, and who makes it grow. I may apply the things that I learn in order to produce sweet fruit, but I do not create the blossoms. What I have is nothing more or less than a gift from Heavenly Father. The poems, the stories, the articles, the essays are sweet because they reflect His life inside of me. His life, not mine, is what has led me down a writer's road less traveled.

And like Robert Frost's road "less travelled by," my decision to walk with the Him, leaving forests behind me, "has made all the difference."