What drives me to keep writing? I ask myself that question quite often these days, as do others from time to time. Surely, with five novels published and a sixth waiting for acceptance, I must have used up all the ideas I have in my head for plots? Sometimes I look at all the effort involved, not only in writing a novel but actually getting out there and promoting it, and am tempted to think that maybe I’ve written enough. But then something happens—and I’m spurred on yet again to keep at it.
This past week saw my husband heading to Canberra for the funeral of a colleague who has spent many years in ministry. When I saw the order of service my husband brought home, I realised this gentleman was around the same age as I am. There was something quite stark and almost shocking, I quickly discovered, in seeing the same year as I was born printed on this order of service. I am mortal, I found myself thinking. There will be an end to this life I’m living and this writing and speaking and editing – perhaps even sooner than I imagined.
Now I did already have an inkling this was the case, of course. But somehow in being so focused on the tasks at hand, all needing to be done in a certain time frame, I had lost sight a little of the bigger picture. This salutary lesson was then quickly followed by another a few days later—something I find God is very good at when it’s necessary to get my attention. There I was, happily reading through 2 Corinthians 4, when I came across the following verses:
Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal (4:16-18).
Hmm—so all these books I’m spending so much time creating won’t last forever. Yet if God has called me to write them, then they are definitely important.
It seems to be a matter of balance, don’t you think? We are called to work with all our might at what God has given us to do, but at the same time, we are to remember they are not an end in themselves. While we have to deal very much with the ‘seen’ in our lives on a daily basis, we are nevertheless to focus on the ‘unseen’ through it all—even the troubles we have along the way. For me then, this means I am to live and write and speak for God to the best of my ability, knowing it’s for God’s glory and not my own, and also knowing I could step into eternity at any time. I won’t be here forever, but while I am, I am to work for the things that truly will last forever.
So I hope I’ve taken God’s gentle reminders to heart. Right now, I reckon the gentleman whose funeral my husband attended is enjoying that eternal glory with God in heaven. And that’s where I want my focus to be too. I want to write for eternity.
How about you? Where is your focus?
Thanks Jo-Anne. I often remind myself – it’s just a book, it’s just a tool. The truly lasting thing is what happens in people’s hearts as they read – I pray for an eternal impact. I write for Him. I write for eternity. XXOO
Thanks for your insightful comment, Amanda. I love your heart for God and the way you approach your writing. God bless
Having just returned from Uralla, laying my parents’ ashes and visiting the graves of my extended family, I’ve also been starkly confronted with this issue of mortality… I love your reminder to work hard at what God calls us to do, but also to hold it lightly. It’s important for now, but there are far more important things ahead for us all I’m sure. Yet one beautiful thing about the written word is it does outlive us – it is almost eternal…
That must have been a hard task for you, Kerry – but I hope there were some special God moments in it too. That’s a good reminder too that our written words, while not quite being eternal, will surely outlive us. And that’s quite a responsibility, don’t you think? God bless
I was thinking about this just this morning as I drove along a busy highway with my almost two year old tantruming in the back seat! I was trying to listen to a CD of mine about being truly loved by Jesus and how he desires to be number one in our lives. The struggle to listen and learn reminded me of the struggle everyday to keep my mind fixed on the eternal. The eternal, the love and finishing grace of Christ far outweighs everything I experience this side of heaven. It is almost as if I am in a waiting room, using my time as wisely as I can, focusing on the Lord’s priorities until my turn is called.
Ahh… the promise.
Thanks Jo-Anne for reminding us to keep our writing, and our lives tuned to God.
I seem to be on this theme a lot, don’t I? But I guess that’s because I am aware of the battle and am trying to keep myself focused on eternity as well. Thanks for your comments, Penny. I love your description of our lives being like a waiting room – very true. And that two-year-old in the back seat sure brings back memories for me!