~Standing on stage to accept an award?
~Self-promotion?
~The unintentional deletion of an entire manuscript that can’t be recovered?
~Crafting a character whose difficult backstory matches our own?
~Being rejected?
This list would be endless, really. It would reflect the varied and relatable insecurities with which many of us wrestle.
But what lurks far deeper and likely delivers a greater fright might be the nagging voice of doubt,
“Why, oh, why am I doing this?”
That insidious message Satan whispers in throaty, lying tongue to lure us, time and time again, away from our primary calling.
To write.
Backside in chair, hands on keyboard, tapping away madly. (BIC HOK TAM)
Confession here. When my house is looking exceptionally polished, it’s evidence against me that I’ve allowed distraction to take priority over reaching my writing goals. On occasion, I’ve stopped to clean a toilet and felt a holy nudge…
“That’s not the seat that needs your primary attention right now.”
Pretty frightening.
But nothing is more frightening than gazing into the eyes of the Lord when we’re tempted to give up on this wildly unpredictable journey we call writing. To see an unsettling sadness in His eyes. Maybe like the look He gave Peter after the third rooster crow?
Scripture leaves Jesus’ expression directed at Peter to our imagination but, despite the unmatched compassion of the Lord for His most impulsive and mouthy disciple’s fallen state, I doubt there was any hint of a smile.
When I’m wrangling with a pitiful, “Why bother?”, I hear the voice of God say something like,
“You’re not thinking about giving up, are you, child? Listening to Satan’s lies again? Remember, I’ve called you to this. Thus, I will equip you.”
Halloween is only two days away, but nothing is more frightening than to abandon our writing journey when we’ve been assured of God's calling, to be held responsible for denying His chosen recipients of our writing to be encouraged by or inspired by… maybe even redeemed by…the Truth of the gospel of grace.
Let's all silence the frightening voice of doubt and cheer each other on, resolute in our calling.
Because God’s gifts and His call are irrevocable. Romans 11:29 (NIV)
What about you? What frightens you most about being a writer?
I can’t think of anything more frightening about this writing journey than to abandon it all when I’ve been assured of His calling @MaryAFelkins #amwriting #amwriting #scariestthing #SeriouslyWrite
Mary A. Felkins is a contributor to writer’s blogs and a quarterly, on-line Bible study magazine. Her debut, inspirational romance novel, Call To Love, (www.pelicanbookgroup) will be released November 15th, 2019.
Raised in Houston, Texas –and forever a Lone Star girl- she and her husband Bruce moved to the foothills of North Carolina in 1997 and have four adolescent to young-adult children. She can be lured from her writing cave if presented with a large, unopened bag of Peanut M&Ms or to watch an episode of Survivor. A surprise appearance by her teen idol, Donny Osmond, would also do the trick, although she’d likely pass out.
If, upon introduction, she likes your first or last name, expect to see it show up in one of her novels.
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