Sallyann Ipp
Write! Who Me? Are you kidding? Absolutely not!
“Bye, I'll be back soon," I yelled to my husband as I left home to run errands. Joking, he replied, "Write if you get work!"
This scenario went on for years, but in 2005, a mentor and friend told me that I needed to write. "Who me? I'm not writing!" I said indignantly. How ridiculous, I thought. That's the last thing I'm ever going to do. My mind was already made up, so I went about my business with no intention of ever writing anything.
"How's your writing coming?" she would ask on occasion.
"I'm not writing," I would reply, trying to forget my dreaded school days. The only enjoyable part of school was reading Dick and Jane, and Humpty Dumpty. Looking back, I realized I had never been taught how to study or build on foundational truths. It wasn’t that the teachers didn’t see the problem, but they didn’t know how to treat it. As a result of these ongoing issues, I saw myself as handicapped and lacking imagination.
You might be asking, “Why not write?” The truth is, I preferred not to delve too deeply into the reason for my issues, and I didn’t want anyone else to know either.
Every time my mentor would ask how my writing was going I would say I wasn't writing, then just went on my merry way. After some time, she made it clear that this wasn’t her idea but was God’s. "The world is waiting for you, the world is crying for you." I just shrugged my shoulders and still chose not to respond although it was something I could not forget.
As much as I tried to ignore it over the next several months, God wouldn’t accept my ‘no’ answer. At the beginning of January 2006, I got up early to a nice quiet house, and it seemed like the perfect time to write. Without a clue how to start, I settled into my living room chair and turned on the light to shine on my yellow legal pad. Sitting in His presence, it wasn't long before I wept as I wrote a little poem to Him from my heart. The next night, the same thing happened with more tears as I wrote from the core of my being: “Lord God, You know my thoughts before I think them, You hear the whisper of my heart…” For some reason, on the third night, I began thinking about the Columbine High School massacre and the two young men responsible for the shootings, as well as their victims. All of a sudden the Spirit of God put the following words into my mind and I jotted them down as fast as I could.
"At times, you may think that nobody loves you, that no one understands you or really cares. Perhaps you're depressed and hurting, and the pain is hard to bear, or you may even wonder why you are here. Be assured that there are sweet answers for you, precious one, for there is someone who dearly loves you, completely understands you, and truly cares about you. It is God, the Holy One! With great pleasure, he created and fashioned you; He chose to put here. He wants to bless you mightily and hold you near.”
When I finished writing, the Holy Spirit said to call it, The Heart of God. The flood gates opened and I began to cry uncontrollably, completely overwhelmed. In fact, I found it unexpectedly therapeutic. My heart was broken as I thought about these two young men and wondered what had caused them to do such a terrible thing.
And that’s how I began to write.
It’s been quite a revelation to realize that I could write, and it’s brought me great joy. In fact, the issues that had plagued me for a lifetime were all resolved in the process. Though my initial attempts were less than polished, they were authentic and from a pure heart. God and I would have fun chuckling over my silly rhyming sentences. The writings came in rhyming format, hence the rhyming writings in the book. As a new writer, I felt uncomfortable about writing in rhyme, but as time passed I realized that’s the way it flowed for me.
I was born into a loving Jewish family with parents who gave me a wonderful childhood, full of remarkable stories. My youthful mind imagined that I was part of the stories I insisted my mother read again and again. And then I carried on that same tradition with my son.
I hope that the things I have created will become readers’ favorites as well. My heartfelt desire is that you enjoy them as much as I enjoyed writing them.
I am so grateful to God for bringing me two especially gifted people that helped make this lovely website possible. My designer Allana Johnson: yokcreative.com and my editor Nancy Williams: nancyarantwilliams.com. I expect to collaborate with them on many future projects.
