All over the Internet I see articles encouraging budding writers to share their story. That their story is unique to them, that there is someone, even just one person who will be touched by that story… you know, I’m sure you’ve seen and read them for yourself. And that’s not bad advice. I’m just ferhoodled as to the practical outworking of sharing my story throughout the seasons of life.

Musing and random thoughts at SimplySusan

I want to share. There are events in my life that have shaped me, touched me and changed my thinking and my beliefs but I often feel stifled in sharing because I don’t know how to do so in a way that tells only my story. I’ve written before on why I don’t write much anymore about my children. Because I want them to own their own story. And it is theirs to tell.

I believe that my story is mine to tell but how do I do that without it having an effect upon some of those people who were indirectly involved? My life is so closely interwoven with the lives of my loved ones and they have also been affected by those same events. Some details and some events seen in print will hurt them, even though I would only ever share things once I’ve dealt with them through forgiveness. Even though I can forgive and have moved on, doesn’t necessarily mean that others in the story wouldn’t be reminded or hurt.

And as such, this is my dilemma with blogging. I’m not the best cook nor do I have any original recipes so I can’t blog regularly about that. There are already a plethora of housekeeping blogs out there. Do we really need another one? There are sites that encourage godly marriage in a much better and deeper way that I can. And motherhood? Oh dear… is there anything I can say on that matter that is either practical or inspiring?

So why bother? Why not just give up?

That would be a fair question. Because I love to write. I need to talk. By nature I am a fairly positive person. Even when in the midst of depression I still lean toward positivity. I like to encourage others. Not from a high, lofty place but from deep within the trenches. I find sharing to be therapeutic, healing and clarifying. So it’s not all about me being a great servant and encouraging others… it’s also about my need to express, to ponder, to journal my way through the seasons of life.

What about you? How do you manage to share deeply yet not over-share or not step on the toes of those intricately involved in the story?