This last weekend, I and five other writers gathered together for a mini retreat. We were working on a specific project, and each one of us struggled in one area or another. As we brainstormed through each person’s story, I witnessed the beauty of the body of Christ in the writing community.This verse is also special to me as my husband and I braided a cord of three strands in our wedding ceremony three weeks ago as a symbol of how Christ is at the center of our lives as individuals and will be interwoven into our marriage as we become one.
The two events, while still fresh in my mind, have given me a new appreciation for how interconnected we truly are. As writers, our work by nature is one of solitude, but what is true in our lives as Christ followers, is just as true for writers who happen to be Christians. Apart from Jesus, we can do nothing. Writers do not put our Christian identity away when we write. We need Jesus at the center of our lives or our work will be meaningless.
Even though we must write on our own, God created us to be in community. Even though we must write on our own, God created us to be in community. click to tweet it! This is why writers retreats and group gatherings are important. Every time I get together with a group of other writers, I see introverts come out of their shell, and ideas freely exchanged, and creativity flows.
When someone is stuck on a particularly difficult passage, others jump in. When a story needs fleshing out, someone will offer a suggestion. I always look forward to the times I can get together with my writer friends, whether it’s at a conference, a mini retreat or one-on-one with a critique partner. I count these times as very special. It has always been through these times that I have the biggest burst of energy and creativity.
What about you? Do you have a group or critique partner that is one of those strands in the “God Knot?” Where is God in your cord, is He at the center?
Multi award winning writer, Patty Nicholas lives in the mountains of North Carolina. She is a busy event planner for the Billy Graham Training Center at the Cove, and is a member of the Blue Ridge Writers Group. She is a mother of two grown daughters and grandmother of three. She writes Bible studies and devotionals as well as contemporary romance. Devotions are published in compilations by Lighthouse Bible Studies.
