Sometimes I fear that my personal lack of discipline will ruin my kids’ futures. I look at them and see these bundles, packed with potential to an unfathomable degree. They overflow with it! The horizon stretches in sunset hues while God works His wonders in and through their lives, employing each gift He has given them.
And then I look at me.
While insecurities whisper lies and build doubt about my own talents, I cannot deny that I have them. God has gifted me. I say that not from pride, but from honest recognition and utmost humility. And I wonder why. What am I doing with what He has given me and how I can seize my God-given writing potential?
It’s time to be honest. How many submissions did I make this month? Last month? How many articles did I finish? How much progress did I make on that dusty WIP? How much time did I waste “marketing” a platform that has nothing to sell?
Why did God give me the ability to write if I will do little with it? Why did God grant me a love of words, if I will keep the bulk of them to myself? I want to be a solid example for my kids so that they can’t blame me will succeed, but I want to succeed, too. I want to seize the future God has for me.
Photo Credit: Orin Zebest via Flickr and Creative Commons License
Do you remember in Exodus 3 when Moses confronted the burning bush? (We always say “Moses confronted the bush”, but really Moses was confronted by the bush. Yes, that’s too passively phrased to satisfy, but bushes don’t have feet, so we’ll just have to go with it.)
Moses heard the Voice speak his name and immediately responded with “Here I am.” It’s a confident statement, no? That’s me. God calls my name and I boldly say, “Yup! That’s me! Here I am.” I commit to follow wherever He leads and I profess great devotion and conviction and then … well, then we get to the next part of the story.
Once God told Moses the plan, Moses provided all sorts of excuses, a list that began with “Who am I?” He worried that he couldn’t do it and that no one would listen and and — “Oh, by the way, are you sure you got the right guy here?” (Don’t quote this. I’m speculating and paraphrasing.)
Yeah, that’s me, too. God tells me to submit (both to Him and to editors, agents and publishers), and I balk. I question if I can do it and if anyone will listen and — “Oh, by the way, I think you got the wrong girl.”
Back to Moses … In the midst of meeting Moses’s stream of arguments with great patience, God asked the shepherd-prince a key question: “What is that in your hand?” (Exodus 4:2) God knew what was in his hand. The question wasn’t for God’s edification but for Moses’s assurance. God promised to be with him and then God reminded him that the tools he would use were already provided and familiar to him. Sure, the environment would change and the obstacles would be great, but the challenge presented was something Moses was already equipped to face. (There I go with passive verbs again.)
My point, dear writers, is this: You have made it this far because you possess potential. Your ideas, your skills, your talents have been given you by God to face the challenges before you. Look at yourself the way I look at my kids: saturated with possibilities. Now put it to work. Don’t allow those whispers of insecurity to paint a limited picture of you. You have much in your hand. Use it.
What is it that God has placed in your hand? Are you using it? Or are you — like me — blubbering excuses and arguments while still standing in the desert?
Talk to me. How can we maintain motivation to persist in our callings as writers when lacking discipline or proper confidence?