Inkling
Tuesday, June 1, 2010 at 06:44AM 
I dream. Photo Jennifer Weber 2010It has been my desire for many years to be a writer. A "real" writer.
As in, make my living as a writer.
I'll thank you not to snicker! Lots of people do!
For ages the one item on my "list" of New Year's resolutions has been "Published."
I've wasted a lot of time. Why doesn't matter.
Now I write every day.
As with any dream that is so close to your heart it basically is your heart, sometimes it's interesting when it comes -- however undramatically -- true.
Not exactly my first rodeo.
In September, 2009, I was published in Reach Out Columbia, a local faith-based magazine.
I know it's not exactly a book deal, but you know what they say: A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single delusion of grandeur.
My article was about the tree that fell on our nephew's truck while it was parked in our yard.
Of course I drew a spiritual application! Wouldn't you like to know what it was? I can't remember.
Through a set of circumstances beyond my control, however, I never actually saw the issue of ROC with my article within its pages.
Seeing is believing.
This time is different ... this time, they sent me a copy. I am, after all, a contributing writer!
So thank you Reach Out Columbia, for publishing an expanded version of my original essay A Rune for June in the June~July~August 2010 issue.
And thank you, Editor Sue Duffy, for your too-kind praise of an emotional piece I wrote several Junes ago, never thinking it would enjoy a life beyond the friendly confines of my blog.
A Rune for June.
Although it probably should be, June is not my favorite month; that would be October. For reasons unknown to me, I am enamored of autumn above all other seasons. But on a recent evening as I walked in the humid gloaming, I considered the many faces and the sure fate of comely June.
June traces the lightning bug's glimmer, the cicada's whir, and the susurrus of warm wind in full-leafed overreaching branches to where time lapses into a pink-hued memory of effortless days. June at its coolest is a languid float in sparkling water; June at its hottest is the ronron of the pool pump and the clack of busy squirrels in tall pines.
June of all the months casts the tenderest, most wistful glance backward, and does it with dewy singing eyes. Sequestered in the soul of June is all the poignancy of all the love that ever was. Its roses, its moons, its skies, its blossom-scented air, its very existence summons belief in the all-wise God who put into motion all of June's excesses and all of its romances.
My Savior found me on a June night in 1972 at Camp Stallion in St. Helena Parish, Louisiana. I had never heard the gospel presented until the moment when Brother Miller, Youth Director of Weller Avenue Baptist Church in Baton Rouge, told the group of teenagers assembled around a marshmallow-roasting fire of The One Who had died to take away their sins.
I don't remember if anyone besides me believed on Him that night; I only know that I did.
When June moved on, so did our fractured little family ... to Atlanta, that is, where at Forrest Hills Baptist Church I was baptized in obedience to Christ's command. On June 16, 1979, I became a happy bride only a few feet from the baptismal waters where I had professed my faith seven years before.
For thirty Junes it has been my privilege to be the wife of a precious Christian man ... and the fortunate mother of our four children, who serve the Lord even as adults. June, the midpoint of every swift-footed twelvemonth, distinctly reminds me of something I cannot afford to forget: the miraculous goodness and longsuffering of God.
And so to me, June's beauty and grace softens the calumnies of mankind ... if only for a moment. In an untouched June morning resides the clear light of forgiveness. June with its eager ambivalence embodies the siren call of wanderlust, the promise of adventure, the happy fact of a lengthy journey completed.
A June dawn beckons. A June day bestows. A June evening blesses. A June night beams. June's outrageous lambency and utter truthfulness increases flagging faith and soothes the bitter gall of heartbreak.
June's plangent song rides smoothly on its own fragrant breezes, heavy with nostalgia. June coos to its infants, laughs with its children, whispers to its brides, counsels courage to its aged, mourns with its dying. June inspires the poet, the lover, the artist, the builder, the naturalist, and the child of God.
When June at last languishes it lays to rest a measure of summer's innocence. June is a trembling novice, a brave knowing soul, a seasoned conspirator. June's gentle advances tune our beings to July's intemperate excesses, prepare us for August's overbearing and overlong contention.
June remembered is an unhurried embrace, a beseeching look, the final caress of a departing love. June forgotten is still, silent bells and an empty shell-strewn shore.
In June's going is the first peeking tendril of winter. Where Junes go, down light paths and dark, we follow.
And the glorious beauty, which is on the head of the fat valley, shall be a fading flower, and as the hasty fruit before the summer; which when he that looketh upon it seeth, while it is yet in his hand he eateth it up. In that day shall the LORD of hosts be for a crown of glory, and for a diadem of beauty, unto the residue of his people. Isaiah 28:4-5 (KJV)
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The pics are now clickable and they embiggen ... some.
The cover. Photo Jennifer Weber 2010
Sue calls it "ethereal" and "stunning." Photo Jennifer Weber 2010
A Rune for June Photo Jennifer Weber 2010
Reader Comments (15)
Congratulations Jenny! A nice read. :-)
Unfortunately I was unable to read all of your article. I will have to pull it up on my large monitor.
Congratulations! A publication is a success, since it is a starting point when submitting manuscripts. I do not have any such honors yet... and I say YET very purposefully!
Thank you for you kind words of my daughter on my blog "After the Happily Ever After!" She is very sweet, and excited for her teeth to grow in.
I wanted to refer you to my official "writing" blog. It is the one that I keep up the most. The other is one I created for family and friends who live far away. I try to keep family moments updated. Feel free to keep reading it! Here is my official blog: http://waitingontheworldtochangeithinknot.blogspot.com/
have a good day! And, again, great work on being published!
@ Reuxicat ... it's a load of sentimental hogwash! But hey! A girl's gotta do ... and who can gauge the taste of editors?
@ ECC ... sorry ... I didn't scan those because I don't know how! I didn't realize people would try to actually read it! LOLOL ... I'll try to rectify that. I have seen your writing blog and scanned it, but alas haven't had time to go back to the story's beginning! I promise I will not forget to return!
Darn IT!!Hahaa...The photo won't let me enlarge it Either!! I'll bet it's Good!
I'll try my Super Size specs and do some more squinting...LOL
OR, I'll go to the bookstore and see if they carry the magazine...
Congratulations Sweetheart!!
hughugs
@ Donna ... I'm sorry! I guess I should have asked my daughter to help me scan it! I don't think you'll find Reach Out Columbia in Texas ... although, I WISH! *grin*
That's awesome, Jenny! "Contributing Writer"... I saw it with my own eyes. :)
@ Kev ... LOLOL I know ... it's a head rush! Even if ROC doesn't pay its writers, I'll take it. If one editor will publish my efforts, perhaps another one will! Supposedly there's a sucker born every minute ... *hopes*
Wow!! Thanks for going through all the trouble of getting it in this post!
It was Wonderful and so descriptive! What a sweet tribute to your "June"!!
hughugs
I tried to enlarge it, to read the editors portion but couldn't. The article is excellent though. Congratulations!
WOOOOO HOOOOOO!!!!!! Congratulations. Heady stuff, ain't it? I remember the first time I read this, it is lovely and very, um, Juney!
I could enlarge and read everything. That's probably because I have a Mac and they are superior... or so I'm told by those in the know.
We were supposed to get married on June 3rd, like my in-laws, and my grand-in-laws - but we just didn't want to wait any longer, and got married Dec. 28th instead. But we didn't take our "official going away" honeymoon until June. Don't know if that counts but I can't say I've ever regretted it.
@ Donna ... no problem, luv! Thanks for coming back!
@ Mari ... wish I were more technosavvy but there you have it! Thanks for reading and for your kind comment!
@ Tracie ... I too work on an iMac now ... thanks to my children ... and I must agree that it is a superior product! I forget everyone's not sitting in front of one! June is the month for romance and no mistake. No matter what month you became a bride, you can't go wrong with a June honeymoon or re-honeymoon! Good to see you here again ... you were missed!
How very exciting for you! Now put some queries out and get something else published! tee hee
I'll try to read it when I get home, but for now life is calling. Sigh...
The only time I've ever been published, or tried to be published, was in OPEN WIDOWS daily devotional guide. I wrote some devotionals, but that was YEARS ago.
Your Rune for June is really spectacular. I'm not just saying that. If anyone does come along and critique your writing ever (like some snobby editor or something), just remember this quote by Dinesh D'Souza:
"The only two reactions you should have towards someone's criticism of you is: Are they right? Or do they misunderstand me? And if so, why?"
@ Susie ... Thanks and I certainly will!
@ Debbie ... perhaps it's time to try your hand at it again! You are an excellent writer if your blog is any indication!
@ Audrey ... why, thanks, luv. I really like that quote. I suppose there's nothing more difficult for a writer than determining whose criticism (including our own) to value and whose to discard! You for instance ... biased much? LOLOL