Creative Best Series - Part Nine

Net's Notation Tuesdays
Creative Best Series - Part Nine

Today we're focusing on the last phrase of our verse from Galatians 6:4 from the Message:

Each of you must take responsibility
for doing the creative best
you can with your own life

Writing can consume your life, can’t it? Ideas come in the strangest places. In the shower, for example. Now how practical is this? “That’s just what would fix that scene! Where’s a pen?” Shampoo is running into your eyes. Not exactly the best place to pen a chapter revision. ;-)

The writing life is just that—it’s your life. It’s your focus. Here’s why that’s not all bad:

Writing is a calling. From God. As He was knitting you together in your mother’s womb, He knew what His calling would be for you. I imagine Him looking ahead to the days when you would realize your calling. And the day you’d accept it. The first time you would take pleasure in what He created you for. Do you remember those moments? Cherish them.

But, like other areas of our lives, this can go sideways. Writing can become an obsession. That’s not what God wants. He is our everything.

Writing can offer so much affirmation and acclamation, that we fixate on our books, our next project, the next time a reader might contact us with praises. Careful. It’s going sideways.

Writing can bring us so much joy we forget to draw what we need from the Lord first and write out of that overflow. We turn to the act of writing or editing or blogging in order to fulfill a deep need for communion, accomplishment, success, or affirmation, rather than to God who longs to fill that place inside us.

We don’t want to be selfish and draw only what we need from writing. Rather, we want to get what we need from God and then be His vessel to minister to others with our lives.

Another positive aspect is we can draw inspiration from our lives that will minister to others. Your life's testimony speaks to readers and will help them through their pain or trials. In this way we use our lives to be our creative best.

So, this writing thing is about your life. It is the focus of your life’s calling. It cannot be your top priority—God is. It cannot take first place in your activities, (to the detriment of family, for example). But it must be a high priority. It must be a cause you’ll spend your life on.

Dear Writer, you can spend your hours doing anything you want. How will you spend your days? Be purposeful. Spend your life being your creative best.