{Days 5&6} On Being Circumloquaciously Wordy

It was 1996 and my husband and I had decided to go to Canada's Wonderland. We had just recently been married and were feeling young and free. In hindsight, this feeling was true: we were certainly young and we were mostly free of the responsibilities that were yet to come with jobs and mortgages and marriage and children. In all honesty, our motivation for going to Wonderland this particular day was to see a singer/songwriter friend of mine who was performing there. I had not seen her in years; the last time I saw her she was the girlfriend of my Youth Pastor and we both lived in British Columbia. Now we were both married, and she still lived in British Columbia but I lived in Ontario. I had much respect for her when I was a teenager, and so my desire to see her live in concert was driving this trip to Wonderland.

I honestly do not remember much of the rides, the food, the weather, how our day went, the specific events of the day. What I do remember is one phrase that she said in her concert. She was recounting her hard work on a paper she wrote in university and how she struggled to get all her words down into something that made sense, resulting in a final paper that she knew was too long. The comment her professor left her went something like this, among some other words (and I quote this very loosely, for it was many years ago):

"You are circumloquaciously wordy..."

I think this stuck with me because I had no idea what that meant. I am smart enough to use my knowledge of words to be able to infer what her professor was saying to her, but I did not know what that big word actually meant. Clearly though, the professor was making a point about my friend's words by choosing a rare, rather obscure word to describe her writing. What this word actually means is this: "referring to someone who is using excessive language to evade a question, to obscure the truth, or to change the subject." (urbandictionary.com) Given that my friend is now an accomplished writer of songs, articles, books and many other words, I think this word was chosen for impact and not for it's true meaning. My friend has learned the art of using words to talk directly to the point, not evade it or obscure it. Her love for words has inspired many to wrestle with the questions of faith and spirituality, and it has led her to write songs of poignant truth.

But the point remains...choosing the right words is important. Especially as writers who desire to breathe life into thoughts and ideas that sit deep in our souls, that percolate there with anticipation, waiting for the right word to express the joy of celebration or the anguish of pain or the confusion of being somewhere in the middle. This is the art of good writing. The act of sitting with big ideas and specific thoughts, waiting patiently for words to flow, wrestling with countless words and the word count, taking the smattering of scattered notes and drawing them together to create something beautiful.

That's just it. Writing is creating beauty - a series of individual words, written in such an order to create something beautiful, inspirational, encouraging, gracious, motivating, and true. Think on these things. Write about these things, for it will be these things that point us to Heaven and give us hope and strength.

Whether you struggle with too many words or not enough words, with scattered notes or organized thoughts, you are in the business of creating something beautiful. A masterpiece that reflects the beauty of God, the author and perfecter of our faith and our craft.

Seize the day, seize whatever you can
'Cause life slips away just like hourglass sand
Seize the day, pray for grace from God's hand
Then nothing will stand in your way
Seize the day

("Seize The Day" from I Can Hear You, Carolyn Arends, 1995)