Sunny Side Up: Thank you to the Sunny Side Up community
By Kathleen Gibson
March, 2001. With a bellyful of butterflies, I sat before an editor’s desk and handed over a folder. It held ten 500-word columns and a proposal to write a new one each week for our community’s weekly newspaper. Church page.
A half hour later, I walked out of that office as the paper’s faith and life columnist, under the heading “Sunny Side Up.” (I suspect the editor’s agreement had less to do with my writing than my spoken resolve to attempt never to miss a deadline.)
Well over a thousand columns later, I look back with humility, amazement and gratitude. With God’s help, in five hundred words (or so) a week, I’ve shared glimpses of how Christian faith intersects with simple, everyday life. Along the way, I’ve told stories about my family, my friends, my faith, and myself. I’ve tried to keep things positive. Real.
After reaching 500 columns, I asked the Preacher if that milestone surprised him. He admitted it did.
“Why?”
“Because, well…you’re quite often...well...(squirm)...not sunny.”
I asked for examples. “I can’t recall any, not off the bat,” he said.
“Am I negative about you? I know I nag. But you so often NEED nagging!”
“There,” he sputtered. “I’ll refrain from saying, ‘nuff said.’”
Milestones spur reflection. There followed a sober discussion about what it means to keep a consistent Sunny Side Up faith on cloudy days. About letting the Son shine in—and out—where it matters most. At home. After decades of practice, I’m still working on that.
I thank God my spouse loves me enough to tell me the truth. I need nagging too—the Preacher let me off easy. But looking over my past columns, I realize that some should have a different title. Over Easy, maybe. Scrambled. Or, Hard and Stepped On. Even (horrors) Scrambled, Fluffy, and Irrelevant. (My readers have been gracious!)
Nevertheless, of all my writing assignments, Sunny Side Up has brought me the most joy. God—who alone gets the credit for any helpful words—has spread it far beyond my long-ago hopes of simply sharing my faith, Christ’s hope and love in my own community. To my surprise, other community newspapers have picked it up. And thanks to social media and electronic delivery, readers far beyond Canada receive these words.
Wherever you are as you read this, please know your responses both inspire and challenge me. Along with gratitude for God’s many blessings, I thank my Sunny Side Up community; those I write about (especially my family) and those I write for. Thank you especially for any prayers you have lifted on my behalf. I couldn’t have done this without you, and I’m richer because of you. Let’s stay in the Son!
You can reach me at sunnysideup.press@gmail.com.
Kathleen Gibson