When there are no words...

I just read an amazing quote, and for a writer, it hit me hard because words are a HUGE piece of my life. I wish the person who said it was cited. In any case, here it is:

For some moments in life, there are no words...

Isn't there so much truth in that? I think as a writer, I tend to want to capture those moments and give them to my readers. But would something be better left to the imagination than an elaborate description that didn't do a moment justice?

One of those moments recently in my life was a "lemon" that was handed to me. I tasted the bitterness and it scrunched my face in pain. Many people have been telling me (metaphorically, of course) to add a little sugar and make lemonade. However, sometimes when God allows lemons in our lives, it is for a much grander purpose than making lemonade. Let's face it, sometimes lemonade just isn't appropriate, right? The greatest challenge is learning to love the lemon for what it is, not trying to add sugar to it to make it something different.

I think those types of moments are the ones that are most difficult for me to write. How can you write the emotion of someone who just received the worst news they ever thought possible, or lost the most important person in the world to them? For those moments when you don't need or want words, but rather just someone to sit beside you in silent conversation in recognition and validation of your pain. Perhaps it would be easy to write, but which words can a writer use to make their reader feel what the character is feeling?

The great challenge of using words to describe the moments for which there are no words. I'll take that challenge and do my best with it. Truly, it is in those moments where we feel most raw and broken. We know the Bible tells us there is beauty in the broken, and most often, our brokenness is where Christ's love sneaks in and captures us.

So, yes, I'll take that challenge to write the moment for which there are no words, because perhaps it is in those moments when my reader might see Christ and know Him. And for that purpose, I'll rearrange the alphabet however many times it takes to get it right. Even if I don't end up using words ;)