My Editor (02/17/2025)

My first job after getting married was as a writer at the Austin Daily Herald in Austin, Minnesota. My husband had been hired by Hormel. It was the summer and fall of 1969. I was assigned to write obituaries and articles for the society page, local news, and entertainment sections. My editor was Bergie, a cigar smoking, two finger pecking machine who ran a tight ship and who could edit a piece on the fly with the pencil that was forever behind his ear.

Back then, we didn’t have computers and printers. We wrote our pieces on typewriters. Every day, I was assigned pieces to write. I loved the fact that it was different day to day. One day it would be an obituary and two wedding articles; the next it would be a piece on the Mower County Fair and the Women’s Auxiliary at the local hospital. I learned early on that names and spelling count when one is writing for a local newspaper. I also learned early on that I couldn’t always judge my own pieces objectively. But I had Bergie. In time I came to appreciate greatly Bergie’s help, his desire that my work be its best not only for my sake but for the sake of those who were impacted by what I wrote.

It took me a few years and some maturity to recognize that the Holy Spirit is my “editor” in life. The Spirit works to make me my best not just for my sake but also for the sake of those around me. The Spirit refines me, gives me the words and gifts I need when serving the LORD. The Spirit leads me and is there when I need Him. The Spirit strengthens me for the tasks at hand and gives me courage to tackle things that need to be done for the glory of the LORD and in service to others.

Christ promised us the Spirit. Christ is trustworthy. The Spirit is with us. Will we turn to the Spirit for help, to guide us, to correct us, to encourage us? When the LORD opens our eyes to a need and yet we feel unequipped, will we turn to the LORD and seek the help of the Spirit? Will we open ourselves to the LORD’s editing, to the LORD’s refining us? Will we trust in the LORD?

Let us open ourselves fully and daily to the power of the Spirit, to the gifts and graces the LORD sends to us for us. Let us seek the Spirit’s help, guidance, and encouragement through prayer daily as we journey in faith, hope and love.

Until tomorrow, let us all love well.