Don’t Skip a Word by Susan Tuttle

Image courtesy of JulesInKY on Morguefile.com

As writers we want each word we put on the page to mean something to the reader. If it doesn’t, we pull it out. We count each word—literally—and only keep those that add value to the story we’re writing. Each one is thought over and chosen with careful deliberation. And only the best word choice is used. We pour over synonyms to create the perfect picture that tells the story exactly as we created it to be seen.

We don’t want the reader to skip one single word.

This thought was with me recently as I remembered Hebrews 12:2 where God is mentioned as the author of our faith. It occurred to me that if the words I choose for my story world are selected so carefully, then the God who writes my story is doing no less. Just as we don’t want anyone to skip a word we put on the page, God doesn’t want us to miss any of the moments he’s chosen for us.

But we try, don’t we? We skip words, paragraphs, even pages out of the moments he’s penned into our lives. Sometimes they’re too painful so we avoid them. Maybe we’re incredibly busy, so we skim through certain periods. Maybe it’s a section that doesn’t hold our attention or a portion that we’re so busy rewriting in our head that we miss it all together. Whatever the reason, we skip the words.

Yet just as people won’t get the full effect of our stories if they leave pieces out, we miss out on the fullness of what God has for us when we don’t take it word-by-word. The happy, the sad, and yes, even the painful. Each word he authors in our lives is meant to build upon the next one, and when we stick around for the entire tale the end product is beyond what we could imagine. It’s our happily-ever-after.

Best of all? He meets you on every page of your story.

So don’t skip a word of it.

Susan Tuttle

Susan Tuttle is a homeschooling mom of three who is crazy about coffee, dark chocolate, and words—both reading and writing them. Combine that love of words with her passion for leading women to a life-changing encounter with Christ, and you’ll find her crafting Inspirational Contemporary Romance stories laced with humor, love, and healing transformations. When not cheering on her Ironman hubby, chasing the family dog, or tackling complex math problems to teach her kids (yes, even the third grader), you can catch Susan at her blog, Steps.