But thankfully God uses flawed and foiled people for great things.
King David was a man who followed after God’s own heart but also committed adultery and murder. When he recognized his flaws, he repented and God continued to use him.
Moses, also a murderer, humbly knelt on holy ground before a burning bush and accepted God’s call to lead the people of Israel out of Egypt.
Peter stuck his foot in his mouth more times than not, denied Christ three times, and grieved his shortcomings. God used this man to add thousands to his eternal kingdom.
The key to their success was not their failures or imperfect actions, but their ability to recognize their flaws and give them to the One who could turn their tainted choices into something beyond themselves.
We must do the same, not only in our lives, but also in our writing.
How many times have we written a story, submitted the work for review, to a contest or even to a publisher, only to find later there were mistakes in the first paragraph? We thought we had the piece perfect, checking and rechecking, but low and behold, there is a flaw staring us right in the face like a huge pimple on our foreheads with the prom only a few hours away.
Our minds go into overdrive. How can I fix this? Should I resubmit? Maybe I’ll pay hundreds of thousands of dollars to someone so nothing like this happens ever again. Our thinking turns negative and we cry, thinking to ourselves that no one will ever love our writing with its flaws.
The Bible tells us in 2 Corinthians 12:9, “But he said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore, I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.”
Isn’t this what we want? That God’s power be made perfect through our flawed writing? When we are weak, He is strong.
So, let’s pull back our hair from our faces, our arms from covering the incomplete words God gave us, and show off our imperfections. Let others know we aren’t perfect in life, in our choices, or even in our writing.
Remember, God loves to use broken, repentant authors.
The key to the success of many biblical well-knowns was the ability to recognize their flaws and give them to the One who could turn their tainted choices into something beyond themselves. #SeriouslyWrite #amwriting @shannon_redmon @MaryAFelkins
Shannon Redmon remembers the first grown up book she checked out from the neighborhood book mobile. A Victoria Holt novel with romance, intrigue, dashing gentlemen and ballroom parties captivated her attention. For her mother, the silence must have been a pleasant break from non-stop teenage chatter, but for Shannon, those stories whipped up a desire and passion for writing.
There's nothing better than the power of a captivating novel, a moving song or zeal for a performance that punches souls with awe. A rainbow displayed after a horrific storm or expansive views on a mountaintop bring nuggets of joy into our lives. Shannon hopes stories immerse readers into that same kind of amazement, encouraging faith, hope and love, guiding our hearts to the One who created us all.
Shannon's writing has been published in Spark magazine, Splickety magazine, the Lightning Blog, The Horse of My Dreams compilation book, Romantic Moments compilation book, Seriously Write blog and Jordyn Redwood’s Medical Edge blog. Her current fiction novel was selected as a top three finalist of the 2018 ACFW Genesis Contest and she is represented by Tamela Hancock Murray of the Steve Laube Agency.
Connect with Shannon:
www.shannonredmon.com
The StoryMoore Blog, named in memory of her father, Donald Eugene Moore.
FB: https://www.facebook.com/shannon.redmon
Twitter: https://twitter.com/shannon_redmon
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shannonredmon/
