Nurturing Writers: Growth in Community

Last week I found myself surrounded by an ocean — and I was definitely the minnow.

I attended the NRB Convention, National Religious Broadcasters, in Nashville, Tennessee. If you’ve never heard of NRB, picture thousands of Christian broadcasters, producers, publishers, radio hosts, and media professionals all gathered under one roof. It’s the kind of place where you turn around and bump into someone whose voice you’ve heard on the radio for twenty years. It’s a big ocean.

So what was a retired schoolteacher turned author doing there?

I was there because of AWSA — Advanced Writers and Speakers Association — an organization that opens doors for Christian women communicators. They graciously made a way for me to attend, and I am so grateful they did. But AWSA isn’t the only group that has poured into my life. Over the years, I have been nurtured by Flourish Writers and Christian Book Academy as well. These communities have done more than teach me the craft. They have walked alongside me, encouraged me, and helped me grow in ways I never could have managed alone. I have been nurtured in my children’s writings by groups such as Children’s Book Mastery and Miramare Ponte Press.

Here’s something I know to be true: we don’t grow without being nurtured.

Think about a garden. You can plant the most beautiful seed in the world, but without water, sunlight, and good soil, it simply won’t flourish. People are the same way. Writers are the same way. Speakers are the same way. God places people in our lives communities, mentors, and friendships to water what He has planted in us.

Some of my most treasured friendships have grown out of these groups. Women who understand the calling, who cheer you on, who pray you through the hard days and celebrate with you on the good ones. That kind of nurturing changes you.

I’ll be honest with you. Walking into a convention like NRB can feel a little overwhelming. There were moments I felt very small. Very minnow-ish. But I didn’t walk in empty-handed. I walked in carrying years of encouragement, teaching, and community that others had poured into me. And somewhere in the middle of all of it, I was reminded that God doesn’t need us to be the biggest fish in the room. He just needs us to be willing.

Now I find myself asking — who can I nurture? What seed can I water in someone else? Because that’s how it works in the Kingdom. We receive, and then we give. We are poured into, and then we pour out.

Maybe you’ve had your own minnow moment, a room that felt too big, a calling that felt too hard. Can I encourage you today? Find your people. Seek out the communities that will nurture your gifts. And then, when you’ve grown a little, look around for the minnow standing at the edge of the ocean who needs someone to believe in them.

God specializes in sending minnows into oceans. Moses. Gideon. David. A young girl named Mary. None of them felt like they were enough. But God was the song in their hearts that carried them forward.

He can be yours too.

I would love for you to reach out to me if you need encouragement today or share a moment when you felt like a minnow.

This was written for the Five-Minute Friday writing community. Each week we are given a prompt and are challenged to write a blog post. Check it out if you’d like to be a part of this.