Update on Rewriting My Conversion/Reversion Story

The other day I posted to notify any of my readers of the impending deletion of my Conversion story, and I've been amazed at how many people think it should be left.

It's badly written, wrought with typoes, and even if it's honest, well..it's unweildy and full of irrelevant things. I really question how many have actually taken the time to read it. Not all the posts are linked together, making it even more difficult for someone to read.

I have taken the comments under consideration, but I DO still intend to delete it, and I want to give some solid reasons why:

1. It's unweildy in its current form. While the "Blue Coyote" story is cute, it's not relevant enough to keep. I can use that metaphor differently and take it out of the story completely.

2. If I don't take it down, I won't re-write it.

3. Out of respect for people who either don't have the time to read or don't have the attention span, I need a testimonial that can appeal to a broader audience. Just because I love to read and so do others does not mean everyone does.

4. Conversion stories have been helpful to me at all stages of my own re-entrance to the Church, and strengthen me even now. If my own can't appeal to those who need something more akin to a "snapshot", well, then it's not effective enough.


I also respect the fact that maybe some of you have been touched by my story, and I sincerely thank you for your comments. It is my prayer that my own experience has helped to bring someone else to Christ. Many of you are converts yourselves, or "reverts" like me, and I deeply respect your opinions and advice.

And so I have this to say:

* The story as it is now, is going to be taken down by the end of this month (December 2008)

* I will re-write my Conversion Story, which will take the highlights of the original, and the journey, and incorporate it with what has happened since. It might still be a couple posts, but it'll be a lot more coherent and to the point. (Believe it or not, I can be concise.)

* I will republish my original story, however, it will be edited, cleaned up, and unnecessary details removed.

So, I put it out there again; those who wish to read the story in it's original format have just over a week. It's going bye-bye, mistakes and irrelvance and all. That's final.

Hopefully the new, shorter version and the edited old version will continue to be true and honest.

One commenter wrote that often rewrites are less honest, and I have to agree; when I wrote my original story, I both didn't have a lot of readers AND I was anonymous but for maybe one or two people whom I had met. Now I know personally many of my commenters and some readers who don't comment at all; it's not a huge leap to realize I might be tempted to sugar-coat the formal re-write. But I'll do my best.

If any of you who know the original feel I'm not being honest in the rewrite, please share your thoughts with me once you see it. You'll probably be decent judges on that matter and I'm willing to submit to that. I'll also try to retain a backup of the original-original so that, if my editing job is butchery, it can be restored.

Will that make a difference?

Maybe my final thought is this; my own conversion goes on and will continue to do so, for that is what is meant by "growing in holiness". I hope I am progressing. And because of that, I need to take a look back at where I've been and how I got to where I am now. Thanks to all of you for following along with me, and thanks to you other bloggers and commenters who have also taken me along on your own journey.

It is a privilege to be a member of the Mystical Body of Christ, and you ALL remind me that NONE of us really lives for ourselves, and many of our experiences are shared, even if we're unaware of our solidarity.

God bless you, and again, here is the link to my original story. Scroll to the bottom and begin there. I will remove it on December 31st, 2008, and post the new one either on or after the New Year.