The Time is Now

by Denise Goosby

I am not ready to start this blog.

But I want to come at you straight. I want to be authentic. Honest. I want to now and always share with you what is on my heart. So…here we go. Writing a blog about healing was not something I planned on doing in July 2020.  But death and heartbreak and illness have visited me. Often. And by God’s grace, I’m still standing.

I had worked for a year and a half working on a master’s degree in nonprofit management at Biola University in La Mirada, California. I got the degree in May.

I figured by now I would be pouring all my recent knowledge and new-found skills into growing and managing my startup nonprofit Healing Song Ministry. It was why I went to Biola in the first place. A strange thing about calling. It doesn’t have to make sense. When you hear the voice of the Spirit; when God moves people and places and circumstances, and when He opens doors, you just walk through. So, when I felt the pull to begin writing again, I couldn’t ignore it.

You see writing is my first love. As a chubby pigtailed grade schooler, I loved making up characters and crafting stories. Even as a kindergartner I was using dialogue and quotation marks. I held so many stories inside of me that I just had to tell them. Writing was my way of cutting through all the barriers that held me back. My timidity. My dorkiness. My weight. Although my audible voice might have been silenced through fear and intimidation, but inner voice could shout. Unafraid.

At one time, I wanted to make writing my life’s endeavor. I wanted to be Nancy Drew with a pen—solving mysteries and helping others by writing about the wrongs done to them that needed to be made right. After getting an English degree from Mount St. Mary’s College and a master’s in print journalism from the University of Southern California, I went to work for a small. community newspaper in Paramount. I enjoyed interviewing people and sharing their stories with an audience. I enjoyed being able to express my own thoughts and opinions when the opportunity warranted it.

But life happens. My love of writing was replaced with my new love for education. It was hard, gratifying work serving adult and elementary students for nearly two decades. No money or fame can replace the deep privilege of being able to touch lives and help others move forward into being the people they were created to be.

At 54, I am going back to the future. I am going back to my love of writing.  I want to share my story with you and pray it will give you hope and encouragement as you live your own story. See, I believe we’re all on a journey of healing. We’re all at various stages of brokenness. Yet, we have much to give to and learn from each other. I’ve experienced more than a few things in this life. Some have brought me great joy; others, crushing pain. And, there are scars…oh, there are scars. But where there are scars, there is healing… 

Join me. 

See yourself in my struggles and triumphs. Find words to think about in the articles, opinion piece, videocasts, and songs (yes, there will be music too!) that you encounter here. Partner with me by leaving comments, applying to be a guest writer, using the journal and coloring pages, or perusing a future online store. Please let me know what you think. I want Denise’s Healing Journey to be about what matters to you. About what you go through—your wins, losses, and on-going battles. And, I want you to know, you’re going to be okay.

Yes, I am returning to my first love. I am sharing my story—the experiences that makeup my own ongoing journey of healing. Allow me to share my heart with you. May you have the courage to share your heart and your story.

Goodbye for now.

For more info denisegoosby.com