Throughout my life, I have embraced many labels: Daughter, sister, auntie, friend, teacher, church volunteer, interpreter and so on. From the age of 13 to present, I have volunteered at my local church as an altar server, lector, and Extraordinary Minister of Holy Communion (EMoHC). However, some titles have been temporary, replaced by new ones. I was a preschool teacher for five years, then transitioned into the title of community volunteer interpreter for a deaf church and later the Braille Institute of America, interpreting for their DeafBlind program, where I volunteer to this day. I am currently working towards a future title of educational interpreter.
The title of Wandering Scribe has been a consistent label I have worn from the time it was given to me during a mission trip. When I wasn’t helping fix houses with my group, I would wander elsewhere with a notebook and pencil in hand. Even during a difficult period in my life where I was certain my writing career was over, the title of Wandering Scribe stubbornly remained within me, tugging at my broken heart when all hope seemed lost. Now, having returned to creative writing after a six-year hiatus, I strive to live up to my lifelong title as a wandering scribe; always processing, always observing, always open to new stories to tell. As a glove is made for a hand, so shall I embrace this title as I traverse through this life, fixing my eyes on the world to come.
“Your place in Heaven will seem to be made for you and you alone, because you were made for it—made for it stitch by stitch as a glove is made for a hand.”
—C.S. Lewis