Hello to whoever is reading this,
This entry is a small stake in the ground, declaring my intentions for The Way Beautiful.
Since a very young age, I’ve found comfort and clarity in writing (just ask the 30+ journals lining my closet shelf). It was a big reason why Daughters of Promise came to be in the first place. But over the years, my writing has slowly diminished to the scale of team emails, social media posts, and abbreviated journal entries in my Clarity Planner. There are lots of reasons why I’ve had made less room to invest in long-form writing.
In addition, I’ve had a perpetual existential crisis with Instagram (the only social media platform I use) over the last few years. One of the reasons is its transient and hyper-dissolvent essence: even the finest content is consumed and discarded within a matter of seconds. The skimmable nature of social media makes consumption easy, and absorption improbable. After years of this, I find I am craving something with more depth and more longevity, both in what I take in and what I produce.
I want the discipline and joy of writing, not merely dumping ideas into a 2,200 character post. I want to cultivate something that will last into the future. (What I really want to do is write a book one day, but that’s a very long ways off.)
For now, my particular desire is to practice writing as a means of noticing the good and the beautiful in my ordinary life in God’s Kingdom. Much like my short-form ponderings on the ‘gram, you’ll find me here ruminating on topics like miscarriage, suffering, beauty, clarity, and engaging faithfully in the life we actually have (instead of waiting around for the one we want). I want a written-down record of, and a place to practice seeing, the way beautiful.
You’re welcome to read along if you like. 🤍
I love Dostoevsky’s claim that “beauty will save the world”, and Frederick’s Buechner’s reminder, which inspired the title for this Substack:
“The grace of God means something like…Here is the world. Beautiful and terrible things will happen. Don't be afraid. I am with you. Nothing can ever separate us. It's for you I created the universe. I love you. There's only one catch. Like any other gift, the gift of grace can be yours only if you'll reach out and take it. Maybe being able to reach out and take it is a gift too.”
Well, it’s always a little nerve-wracking to start something new. So, we’ll leave it at this. The Way Beautiful is nothing fancy. I don’t know how inspiring or riveting it will be; I do hope that it scatters seeds of hope for what is good and beautiful.
Until next time,
⊰ Rae ⊱