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Creative Writer Reaches Beyond the Grave
I learned today that author Madeleine L’Engle died September 6, 2007, and I somehow missed her passing. I didn’t expect her to say goodbye or have her publicist contact me, as we were not personally acquainted. Except it feels very much like we were. Such is the influence and impact good writers have on us.
But beyond the enjoyment I’ve had over the years reading and re-reading and re-reading, and reading yet again her books, particularly the “A Wrinkle in Time Series,” today is the day she had the most impact on my life, even though she does so posthumously.
In searching for everything I could find online about this gifted author to share with my readers, I came across the following quote:
The goal, said L’Engle, was to create fiction that was unmistakably Christian, while writing to an audience that included all kinds of believers and unbelievers.
“I have been brought up to believe that the Gospel is to be spread, it is to be shared — not kept for those who already have it,” she said. “Well, ‘Christian novels’ reach Christians. They don’t reach out. … I am not a ‘Christian writer.’ I am a writer who is a Christian. I think that you have to be the best writer that you can be. Now, if I am truly a Christian, then that will show in my work.”
Without a doubt, reading these words was a defining moment in my life. L’Engle verbalized what I had until now only understood instinctively about my role as a writer in a world of belief and unbelief. The instant I read her incredibly profound words, great sobs wracked my being. I was already saddened by the loss of this gifted individual, but keen regret flooded my soul that I could not tell her (in this life) of the profound effect that her work, and this particular quote, had on my life and on my view of where I fit into the greater scheme of things as a writer.
I have sadly attended two funerals recently of friends who died too young — both younger than I by a few years. As I listened to people share about the lives of these two people, I was forced to wonder what others might say at my passing. I couldn’t think of anyone except my daughter offering anything of note, since I have naturally had the most impact on her life than anyone else’s.
It’s not that I wanted to to be remembered as this great person. I just want my life to have meaning, that all the “stuff” of the past few years particularly, and the other 55+ years as well, were for a purpose greater than just me and my little life and whatever the lessons are that I’ve learned and still need to learn.
I want to make a difference, so that I leave a legacy of changed lives, even if in small or subtle ways. I’m not greedy about how large or small the differences are. I’ll leave that up to someone greater than I who’s in a position to administer such things.
Thank you, Madeleine, for pointing me in the direction I’ve been seeking. Your words will live on as long as those of us who read them continue to internalize them and make them our own, giving life where there was no life before.
Rest in Peace.