My Very First Interview!

Among the silly dreams I have for myself is being a journalist. The kind who doesn't have a bias and instead "asks the hard questions" to both those she likes....and those she detests =D Reporters aren't like that nowadays; I can count them on one hand.

However, I need practice. This might sound silly, but I feel the Lord dropped an opportunity into my lap. A week or so ago, I read an article that really, REALLY spoke to me. So much so that I felt the urge to share it with y'all. Since I am not sure if you have read it or not, the article can be found here....well, after a portion to whet your appetite!

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"What would have happened if you'd have gotten married at nineteen?"

Mama and I were in her bathroom getting ready to go out and celebrate my sister's first birthday when she asked me that question. I sat on the stool where I've sat on countless mornings for the past ten years, watching her fine-tune her makeup long after I'd brushed up my hair and washed my bare face. Dad was in the living room with my siblings, waiting for us to get a move on, but we were taking our sweet time that day, conversing about everything under the sun.

Guys included.

I grinned. "I'd be a completely different person now," I told her.

Even though I'm a single girl who only knows of marriage what she's seen played out in front of her, I know that the person you decide to spend the rest of your life with plays a huge part in who you become. My dad would have been a different man if he hadn't found my mama, and vice versa. And if I'd have gotten married at nineteen, the age my dad was when he met my mom and married her six months later, I'd be a different woman than I am a mere two years hence. (Read On......)

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See why I got so excited?! I just had to delve deeper into the mind of the author and get all the details? What made her write it? What has the response been, considering to some it could be controversial? Thank goodness I didn't have to do the stuff like contacting agents, offer payment, so on and what not. The author is a dear friend, so I just asked....and she was gracious enough to accept. Unfortunately, the interview was conducted over Facebook and e-mail, since we live in two different states....but I think we managed very, very well.

So, without further ado, picture me as some smartly dressed, unbiased yet loving, Pulitzer winning journalist and we shall get started:

What inspired you to write your latest post?
I had been mulling over writing a post on singleness for a while, just trying to think of another way to encourage girls in contentment, but I kept hitting against a brick wall. I didn't want to say the same thing that's been said thousands of times: "Someday your prince will come; just hold the line, ladies." Then, when I talked to my mom and realized how much I'd changed in just these past two years, it came to me... yet again: singleness isn't about holding out for marriage. It's about living life in fullness and gratitude and growing each day.

Because of other's perception of you and your family, were you nervous about writing it?
Definitely. I have to worry about two completely different extremes when I write: people who have a tendency to idolize my family and I because of who they think we are -the perfect little household that never struggles with sin or brokenness, rough patches or growing pains -and people who, no matter what I say, think we're another sort of people -I've heard everything from "my parents are keeping me home using the guilt of caring for my younger siblings'" to "my dad is turning away countless suitors because no one is good enough for his baby girl." I have tried catering to both audiences before, and it really just ends in a lot of stress and over-long blog posts full of caveats, so when I wrote my most recent article, I just focused on saying what I wanted to say and praying that the Lord would be glorified through it.

If you are comfortable, would you mind giving one or two "real life" examples of how you would do things differently, as opposed to what you would have if you were married at nineteen?
Well, I can't say for sure how I would have been as a wife, because I wasn't married at nineteen, but one thing that is very different about me: when I meet someone, the most important thing they know is no longer that I live at home with my family, I go to a family integrated church, I was homeschooled, I didn't go the traditional college route, or I want to "court" instead of "date" (whatever those terms mean to my listener)... it's that I love Jesus Christ, who God the Father offered up as the perfect sacrifice for my sin. We can talk about all that this entails, and what my obedience to God's calling on my life looks like... but the importance of the decisions that flow from my gospel convictions has paled in comparison to the gospel itself. And I'm not afraid that one day I could have to amend my position on any one of those convictions, because it's not the particulars of my works that saves me, but God's grace.

So, be blunt --are you glad that you are not married now? Or would you rather have been married at nineteen and change after?
I'm happy I'm not married now because I wasn't ready to be married then. Marriage is difficult, and we're constantly changing, but I'm grateful to grow as much as I can as a single woman before coming one flesh with another sinful human being. Plus, I was attracted to the wrong-for-me kind of guy: someone who majored on the minors and didn't understand the minors and would lead me further into my tendency to add to the gospel instead of towards the purity of God's Word.

Do you feel that this was a message that needed to be said, especially in/to certain Christian circles?
It's hard to say. If I've said something that resonated with other young women and caused them to reevaluate an area of their lives that they hadn't brought under submission to God's will, I praise him for that. But I think the Lord is fully capable of working mightily without my corner of the blogosphere. =)

What has been the response to your honesty and openness?
The comments I've received have been very gracious, but that seems to have been the case since I started my new blog. It's a much quieter place, and I've been blessed with very kind commenters and friends... such as yourself. =)

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Many thanks to Jasmine Baucham for committing to this interview. We have an understanding: we shall both win a Pulitzer. She writes a book that changes the world, I do the interview, and we have proud husbands on our arms when we go to collect our awards. (Our Oscar comes before then....because actors are accompanying us on that occasion ;-)

If for some reason, you want to share this article/interview with anyone, go right ahead. This is Ella for FFF News, signing off.

Good Night and God Bless! =D