They come to me for help in telling their stories. They come to me from all walks of life. Some are running successful businesses making multiple millions of dollars. Some are barely scraping by and each day is filled with insecurity on more levels than it is possible to describe. Each one unique, each one the same in many ways. And I listen as they speak. Sometimes I ask questions, diving into their thoughts and their lives, removing the masks and the layers of wrappings that hide them as I go.
They Don’t Know What To Expect
When they come to work with me, they don’t know what to expect. They don’t know how much of themselves they dare to reveal. Will I judge them? Will I pity them? Will I look on their weaknesses with disgust? Will they meet with my scorn or my condemnation? What will I see when their lives are laid bare before me?
I See Their Pain
As I listen, I see the pain. It is always the same. Everyone who comes to me has been wounded, hurt, cut to the bone and laid open. Some of these wounds have never fully healed. I see the pain, I see the source of it, I see the way that pain has woven itself into every area of the tapestry of their life.
I See Their Courage
To come to me takes courage. To admit they need help with this is to show a vulnerability many people simply aren’t capable of showing. They face the fear of rejection, condemnation, and judgement to open their lives to me, in spite of it all, and I admire them for it. I also see the way that they have fought to get where they are, to take what was done to them and make something of themselves in spite of what they’ve been through.
I See Their Failures
They have done things they aren’t proud of doing. They have been places they shouldn’t have gone. They have tried things that didn’t work. They have been in relationships that broke down. Failed jobs, failed relationships, failed plans, failed hopes, failed businesses, and failed dreams – I see it all.
I See Their Successes
I see the moments they broke through those failures to reach the other side. I see them achieve triumph after tragedy, and victory after defeat, and I know that when we are done the story we are working to tell will speak so powerfully to those who are struggling to find hope after yet another failure.
I See What They Cling To
I see the things in their past that still trouble them. The grief that lingers like a ghost that haunts their hearts. The wounds that are still open or may even have festered. I see the relationships that are still causing them pain, the bitterness they may hold in their hearts for a wrong done long ago.
I See What They’ve Let Go
I see what they’ve lost and where they’ve let go. Sometimes it was something that needed to be let go, like anger. Sometimes it’s a love lost, a dream that died, a hope that was laid to rest.
I See Their Flaws
There are no perfect people, no people who have it all together. Some are better at pretending than others, but in front of me there is no pretending. The flaws are part and parcel of the package. It is impossible for me to look at them this way and not see the flaws just as I see everything else about them.
I See Their Beauty
I see with a kind of clarity the beauty that is in them, though it may be hidden from their own eyes. I see the love that struggles to rise again despite the crushing adversity and the tenderness of the heart that sometimes hides behind masks in order to prevent itself from being hurt all over again.
I See Myself
What they don’t know is that as I listen to their stories, I see myself in them. I see the common links that bind us together, the common pains we share, the struggles that unite us. I see myself more clearly in the mirror of their souls and I am grateful for the time I spend helping them to see themselves in a new light.
And Seeing, I Love Them
Being a ghost writer for others is not work for me. It is the thing I love doing most. It is my passion, my purpose, my life’s work. I can imagine when I get to heaven that this is exactly what I will be doing – working in God’s library, cataloging the lives of every person who walked on the face of the Earth so that their stories may be known and they may be loved. Because once you’ve entered into someone’s story with them and walked the paths they’ve walked, you can’t help but love them. You know the good, the bad, and the ugly about them, but you understand it all and you see too much of yourself in them to ever hate them.
The Gift I Aim to Give Each One
At the end of the day, when my pen stops moving and the story of their life lays before me, the gift I aim to give each one of them is to allow them to see themselves the way God sees them. To know that in spite of every flaw and every mistake and every struggle, they are loved. To know that there is no pain that they walked through that God did not ultimately use to their gain and to equip them for the service of others. And to leave them with peace that comes from having let go of those things that no longer serve them, the courage to go reclaim what they gave up out of fear or discouragement, and the power that comes from knowing the value they bring to others.
What’s Your Story?
Have you hired a ghostwriter? Have you been a ghostwriter? I’d love to hear from you.
Interested?
If you would be interested in allowing me to tell your story, schedule a free consultation today. There’s no obligation, and nothing in the interview will be used without your express permission.