Interview with Wyn Barratt

Today it is my pleasure to post an interview with fellow blogger Wyn Barratt, all the way from Australia! I have been reading Wyn's blog Ponderings for a long time and last month she finally (at 82!) published her first book with Xlibris. I think she deserves an interview :) Here we go, enjoy!

Please, introduce yourself… anything special we need to know about Wyn Barratt? 

I was born in England. The Second World War was on during my high school days. If there had been an air raid the night before we didn’t have to go to school the next day (assuming the school was still standing!) Consequently we hardly had any education during those years 1939-45. I attended the local Baptist church where I met and finally married Geoff Barratt. We had four children two girls and twin boys and emigrated to Australia as ‘ten pound Poms’ in 1966. In 2008 God gave me a promise and a wonderful gift. He promised me a hope and a future. At the grand of age of eighty that was amazing! His gift to me was in writing poetry. The Holy Spirit prompts me with ideas and words and I just write down what comes into my heart and head.

My husband passed away on Easter Saturday night in 2010. He was ill for years with diabetes and Parkinson’s disease. 

How and when did you start your blog? 

On October 18th 2008. I started because a friend started one and helped me set it up.

What is your drive behind blogging? What do you hope to accomplish? 

I wanted to share my thoughts with others in the hope that they would learn to love God too. God gave me the gift of writing poetry just before my 80th birthday. I joined the Shoutlife website, which is a Christian one, and posted my poems between my blog and Shoutlife.

You are quite active in social media, which is admirable at your age. How do you keep up?

I sometimes wonder that myself. I tend to groan and panic a bit when I realize I have taken on too much.  I can’t say no to anyone and apart from the invitation to jump off a cliff I have accepted all offers and suggestions, albeit with some trepidation. I have withdrawn membership of several places like Twitter and My Space and a couple of lifestyle sites where I felt uncomfortable or didn’t fit in. I joined Facebook only to keep in touch with my family. My family is both large and scattered geographically. I don’t see them very often so at least I can find out what is happening on Facebook.

You have recently published your first poetry book! Congratulations. What have you learned from the publishing process, so far?

It is still somewhat of a mystery. For instance My book Love Letters to the Master was published on June 24th , my husband’s birthday , which was very nice. It was weeks later that I discovered a number of agencies was already selling my book and I still hadn’t received a copy myself. Frequent phone calls to my ‘production assistant’ seemed more helpful than just sending emails. Next time (if there is a next time, as I still have nearly one thousand poems in my computer,) I will know the best moves to make from experience. 

What are your poems about?

The persons of the Trinity and my love and gratitude for my Lord and all that He has done for me and been to me. They show the ups and downs of my spiritual progress in a lot of ways. A friend has told me I preach a bit too, but in a gentle way I hope.

What role does your faith in God play in your daily life? 

It is my only reason for living. I have bouts of depression in spite of this, especially since my husband passed away after 60 years of marriage. Because of his ill health we rarely left the house and didn’t make friends easily, although we attended church as often as possible. I miss the companionship, friendship, and outings. I remain in the house even more now than I did when Geoff was alive. I haven’t become used to doing things alone yet. My favorite pastime is walking over Muttonbird Hill, a steep hill that protrudes from the sea wall. I hope that the Lord will call me when I am out on that hill. It is so beautiful, yet wild. I talk to the Lord as soon as I awake in the mornings and frequently through the day too. Being alone I can talk aloud to Him, but of course I have to remember not to do that when I am out in public!

Do you have any authors or specific books that have been an inspiration to you?

Marja Meijers!! I am not normally a reader but since I heard about her books I devoured them hungrily. I love her straightforward style of writing and sincerity and way of expounding the Scriptures. As I am reading I exclaim to myself “Of course! Why didn’t I see that before?” I fell in love with Sorek [main character in Breath of Life] and wept copious tears over him. She set my heart on fire for the aborted child.

The Shack is a favorite too. Totally unlike anything I have read before but I enjoyed it immensely.

Also a new book, Robert Greyeagle’s first novel, ‘Unto these Hills.’ He is a great writer. I was gripped from the beginning and couldn’t put the book down. I can’t wait for his next one which is titled ‘Luke the Drifter’. His books are about his people the Cherokee.

Finish these sentences:

I wish I had…started writing at a much earlier age but God’s timing was perfectly matched to my need

I wish I could…write wonderful words to show the beauty of God and His Majesty and tell the world how wonderful He is. I wish everyone would give their lives to Him

I wish…I never disappointed Him and that when I enter Heaven He will say “Well done thou good and faithful servant.

Yes, I can see in answering these questions that my life is just wrapped up in my dear Lord and Savior. He is my life and I wouldn’t want to live without Him for a single moment even though I can still get into a lot of trouble with my mouth and impetuosity. I regret to say that I am the sort of person that jumps off the proverbial cliff and then looks back to God and asks, ‘Is this what You meant?’ I am going to be a happy pupil in the school of the Holy Ghost for a long time.