Time to Cut Loose the Anchors by Sandy Kirby Quandt

Relentless attacks, hijacks, and a temporary shutdown by the host of my blog this past spring, coupled with the rejection of two manuscripts under consideration for nine months, and losing a writing contest by 0.5 points caused me to re-evaluate whether I had what it took to continue writing. Fear and discouragement pushed out trust and hope.

I told God I quit. I couldn’t do it anymore. I was done writing. I threw out my anchor and refused to type one more word. For a time at least.

While I wrestled with God over the future of my writing, I re-read the story in Acts 27 of the Apostle Paul’s shipwreck. While on his way to Rome as a prisoner, Paul’s ship ran into a life-threatening storm. Fear consumed the passengers but it didn’t consume Paul. Knowing there was little they could do about the storm, he encouraged his fellow shipmates to put their trust in the ability of the One who created the wind and the waves to keep them safe.

During the storm’s worst, the men threw out the ship’s anchors. They tied ropes around the rudders to keep the ship immobile. They lowered the sail, and stayed put to wait out the storm.

Two weeks later, daylight came. With land in sight, the men cut loose the anchors which kept them from moving forward and abandoned them in the sea. They untied the ropes which held the rudders in place. They hoisted the foresail to the wind, hung on, and headed to shore.

How many times in the middle of our storms have we thrown out the anchor, tied down the rudder, lowered the sail, and refused to move forward? We see the storm before us, whatever our storm might be, look at our inability to control it, and throw our hands in the air. We forget the one who created the storm placed it in front of us for a reason. To grow our trust and prove he is able.
When we reach the point where we allow our faith to beat out our fears, and hope to defeat discouragement then we’re willing to cut loose the anchors, untie the rudders, hoist the sail, and hang on for the ride. We’re committed. We've released our life into the All-Powerful hand of the One who controls the winds and the seas to carry us safely to shore.
In the midst of my struggle I forgot something important. I believed in my inability more than I believed in God’s ability. I’m not sure if my refusal-to-write storm lasted two weeks like the storm in Acts 27, but after I pouted a while, I knew it was time to cut loose the anchors and get back to writing.

In the midst of my struggle I forgot something important. I believed in my inability more than I believed in God’s ability. - Time to Cut Loose the Anchors by @SandyKQuandt #seriouslywrite #writetip

Sandy Kirby Quandt is a freelance writer and follower of Jesus with a passion for history and travel. Passions that often weave their way into her stories and articles. She writes numerous articles, devotions, and stories for adult and children publications both print and online including Christian Devotions and Inspire a Fire. Her devotions appear in two Worthy Publishing compilation books; So God Made a Dog and Let the Earth Rejoice. Sandy won several awards for writing including the 85th and 86th Annual Writer’s Digest Writing Competition in the Young Adult category, First Place in the Blue Ridge Mountains Christian Writers Conference Children’s Literature 2016 Foundation Awards, First Place in the 2017 Foundation Awards in the Young Adult, Middle Grade, and Flash Fiction categories. Looking for words of encouragement or gluten-free recipes? Then check out her blog, Woven and Spun.
twitter.com/SandyKQuandt