As a brand-new Hope*writer I was struck by Gary Morland’s piece, “Self-Protection or Saving Lives.” Gary uses the analogy of a lifeguard who sits high above the beach on a lifeguard chair with a red cross flag flying overhead. The lifeguard is trained to help others who are drowning, but if he sits in a beach chair like everyone else, how would those who need his help be able to find him? Gary’s analogy suggests that self-promotion is not about promoting self, but life-saving content.
So far, I confess I’ve been reluctant to get out of my low-slung beach chair, unable to distinguish my message from myself, especially because it comes in the form of a memoir. Because shame is its major theme, I’ve been hesitant to both submit and promote.
Through Gary’s analogy, however, I see the through line between private comfort, and pride. Perhaps I care so much about what others think that I won’t risk anything on their behalf. From that angle, my timidity is not humble but selfish.
And what if people reject not only me, but the quality of my writing? Then I am not enough in yet another way. I’ve been so busy defending myself from possible vulnerability, that I’ve been imprisoned by yet another one of shame’s shifting shadows. How ironic! My story is all about the freedom I’ve experienced through Christ’s cleansing blood.
Thanks Gary, for showing me I can’t stay in my flimsy beach chair when others are drowning in the same currents that pulled me under, not if I want to fly Christ’s cross above my writing.
