Even More Important than Your Writing ...

 by Anusha Atukorala

I will never forget that season – a season of deep grief it was, when much that I cared about was prised out of my hands. It started with God's leading to leave my much loved church family of 15 years and a ministry I’d enjoyed for more than 10. Life had thrown a few curveballs and I was bewildered. Sad. Lost! Why did God give me a task but whisk it away from me, an all too brief 8 months later? Why did God give me such a purpose and passion to serve others – if He didn’t want me to continue? But … we know the truth, don’t we? Scripture tells us that God’s ways are not our ways. His ways are always better of course, but it takes hindsight to realise it!

 

It was a season of deep pain and sadness. Questions filled my mind ... large grey clouds pregnant with rain, filling up every inch of sky before a downpour. I’d loved serving those in our community who came to us for financial and other kinds of help through this arm of the church I’d been involved in. I loved praying with non-believers – I don’t think anyone refused my offer of prayer – even though most had no personal knowledge of God. It was wonderful – being able to be part of their journey, to bring light and hope into lives that were hurting. It had been a God-breathed, God blessed ministry.

During the months that followed, I questioned my worth. If what I did was taken away from me, what did that say about me? I was a nobody! Useless! Yes, I was a Christian writer and I loved writing for Jesus. But … I was more than a writer – I was also called to bless and help others. I knew it was what God had created me to do. One day, as I read the words of a well-known author and speaker, light came flooding in, dispelling the darkness I'd been wrapped in.

 

“Your significance doesn’t come from what you do. 

It comes from being a child of God.” Joyce Meyer

Her words created an arrow of joy that pierced deep into my spirit, renewing my heart and mind. It was true. I was a child of God. The peace that washed over me then, was not just a step towards healing, but like running up a whole staircase towards it. God's truth took root in my heart where it now abides deep within, giving me the sure knowledge of being loved and of having worth, apart from anything I do. 

And so … during the past 8 ½ years, when my writing moved from centre-stage to the periphery due to ill health, this same knowledge held me – I had worth, not because I was a Christian writer, but because of Whose I am! It’s been my toughest season … but I got through it, because God said I was enough. Thank You Jesus! How grateful I am!

 

Today, I’d love to cheer on anyone who needs a word of hope and encouragement. Perhaps you have not achieved your writing goals in the recent past? Perhaps you have been fighting writer’s block? Perhaps your book sales have been dwindling of late, as mine have been? Perhaps you have had little time or energy to spend on your writing pursuits, despite yearning to do so – that’s me! 

Perhaps your editor’s comments on your latest manuscript made you wonder if you would ever make it as a writer? Whatever the source of discouragement, here’s a thought. While our writing craft is important, perhaps this season is a gift - a path to finding untold riches of the spirit?

What’s more important than your writing? Well, YOU, for instance. You matter. Did you know that? You are a child of God. Beloved. No matter what successes or failures you’ve encountered in your calling, you matter even more than that to Him. You really do. El Roi, the God who sees, is looking at you this moment, His Daddy eyes resting on His beloved child. He is proud of you just because you belong to Him. He loves you with an everlasting love. You are safe in Him!

What’s more important than your writing? Your walk in perseverance qualifies for that space too. No one but you know the challenges you’ve faced, the tough times you have overcome. No one but God knows how you have kept clinging to Him, no matter what. I know He is proud of you for keeping on, despite the setbacks. Well done, my friend! Well done!

 

What’s more important than your writing? Obedience to God! God has a way of asking us to give up what we prize most, just like He tested Abraham. He tests our hearts by requesting that we step away from our ambitions. He removes what we believed was our goal and we stumble headlong into a perplexing season. At times, obedience to Him makes no sense at all. But we know that even more important than writing a best seller, to be obedient to what He calls you and me to do today – and that’s what matters most of all!

 

What’s more important than your writing? The Father’s heart of love! That’s what! He doesn’t want you to lose out on the riches of His Spirit that He pours out on those who yield to Him. So sometimes, when it seems we have been failures – God knows that we have succeeded, because we have done what He has asked– no matter how small and insignificant it seems in the world’s eyes. 

Today I say Well done, dear one. God sees you. He knows you. He is pleased with you. I see the twinkle in our Father’s eyes as He cheers you on, His precious child. So be encouraged. Be blessed. Keep doing all He calls you to – we are in this together. You are not alone. You matter. 

And YOU shine!

Anusha’s been on many interesting detours in life, as a lab technician, a computer programmer, a full time Mum, a full time volunteer, a charity director, a full time job chaser, until one golden day (or was it a dark moonless night?) God tapped her on her shoulder and called her to write for Him. She has never recovered from the joy it brought her. She loves to see others enjoying life with Jesus and does her mite to hurry the process in her world through her writing and through her life. The goodness of God is her theme song through each season, as she dances in the rain with Jesus.

 

Her first book Enjoying the Journey contains 75 little God stories that will bring you closer to your Creator. Her second book Dancing in the Rain brings you hope and comfort for life’s soggy seasons. Her third book, Sharing the Journey is a sequel to Enjoying the Journey.

 

Do drop in on her two websites to say G’day! She’d love to connect with you.

Dancing in the Rain

Light in the Darkness

 

 

 

                                                        

 

 

 

When a Tree Talks

Mazzy Adams

Mid-September is Carnival of Flowers time, an event celebrated annually in the mountain city I call home. This year, my husband and I wandered through the colourful vistas of Laurel Bank Park. We began our stroll in The Scented Garden which is a delight for the senses and a feature for those with visual impairment. I brushed the leaves of several plants, releasing their spicy aromas, appreciating their textures, this one crinkly and crisp, that one soft and furry. I was focused on the immediate, the close personal experience, until I rounded a bend in the path and saw, right there in front of me—

Two ordinary ladies. Blocking my progress.

They weren’t brandishing guns or wearing backpacks filled with explosives. They weren’t weird. They weren’t sinister. They looked normal and content. I confess, the fiction writer in me was a tad disappointed.  

What were those ladies doing? They were holding their phones aloft, photographing a tree. A truly magnificent tree. A tree I would have missed completely if not for their actions. Like a positive book review from a fan, or an enthusiastic tweet about an upcoming release, their focus and appreciation drew my attention to a wonderful creation. The moment they left, I employed my phone’s camera too.

But that’s only the beginning of the story. Their actions also had a profound impact on my thoughts and provoked contemplation. Since then, God has been whispering encouraging messages to me—messages about writing and life—revealed through that experience and the tree.

Taking a photo of that tree should have been easy, right? But no matter where I stood, I couldn’t frame or even see the whole tree. My perspective was limited. Only God (or possibly someone riding a hot-air balloon) could see the whole of that tree at once.

God’s perspective is never limited. He sees the whole picture. He sees the reason and purpose behind each and every action he calls us to take, and each and every thought he wants us to write down.

It was late in the day when that tree captured my attention. As the sun set and the light changed and the shadows grew and the darkness entered, that tree did not deviate from its purpose. It kept standing. It kept growing, remaining true to its essence, its DNA. And it kept whispering truth to me.

When did God call you to write?

Last week? A year ago? When you were a child?

Before the foundation of the world?

I thought about how very many decades that tree had taken to reach its current stature. How, as a small seed, it was planted and nurtured by people and nature. How it was fertilised, treated for insect attack or disease, pruned (it probably didn’t enjoy that much).

Have others nurtured you in your calling? Helped to establish you in it? Fed you? Protected you from interference, discouragement, or attack? Helped you shed unproductive habits?

Have you, likewise, nurtured others in their calling?

Late to bud after a harsh, dry winter, that tree looked stark and bare, remaining dormant till conditions favour letting those new shoots loose.

Is God calling you to write something new? Or to pick up the pen that has lain dormant through a long, cold, dry winter? Is it time to edit that stubborn draft? Enter that competition? Learn a new skill? Have you noticed the arrival of Spring?

Other gardens in the park were awash with colourful blooms. I had fun trying to name the various plants. I personally could not identify the species or genus of my talking tree. The person who planted it possibly needed to know, needed to understand its expected growth pattern, where it belonged in the park. My ignorance didn’t make the tree any less valuable or amazing. I loved the singular tone and tome of that tree just as much as I loved the sweet aroma of the massed planting of stocks, the elegant gentility of the tulips, and the bright, bouncy freedom flaunted by the poppies. Each had to grow into what they were meant to be and appreciated for what they are.

Likewise, a writer’s ability to identify, establish and conform to genre expectations is useful. But remember, reading and writing outside or beyond the norms, form and limitations of genre can be an exhilarating, enlightening and liberating experience.  

As I pondered each of these analogies whispered by the One who created the tree and created me, I felt a calming inner peace, reassured in my calling and in God’s timing. There is indeed a time and a season for every activity and purpose under heaven.

Then I had one more thought … trees allow our words to live on in print, for a very, very long time.

What have the trees, or their Creator, been whispering to you?  

Mazzy Adams is an Australian wife, mother, grandmother, creative and academic writing tutor and published author with a passion for words, pictures and the positive potential in people.

Website: www.mazzyadams.com

Email: maz@mazzyadams.com

A time for everything in season

As I come to write this blog I find myself thinking, do I really have time to do this? Is this a good way to spend this hour?

With this I’m reminded of my longstanding attempt to keep my life in balance, to juggle all the activities I believe are important, and to keep everything, including my sanity, on an even keel. My conclusion has usually been that in reality I try to do too much and therefore often find myself searching for things I should stop doing, so that I can do other things better.

Recently I was given a book to read, ‘Your Life in Rhythm’, by Bruce Miller, and I feel the urge to share some of the principles with you as I remind myself of them.  

Essentially Miller makes the point that trying to keep life in balance is not only an unattainable pipe dream but it’s also a hurtful, destructive one.

I can see that’s true when my busy days turn into busy weeks and months with so much pressure to keep everything in place that I feel like I’m balancing a dozen balls in the air, or trying to stand on one foot and hop from one commitment to another without falling over. I’ve lived like this at different stages of my life – trying to balance housework, family, church activities, health issues, work, study, friends, socialising, spiritual growth and sleep!

And now I’ve added writing with all the extra activities that involves – editing, promoting, marketing, networking; all while trying to remain creative. I suspect I’m not alone in this challenge!

These are some of the precious things I’ve taken on board from the concept of living rhythmically instead of trying to live a balanced life. To some these ideas may just be a way of reading different meanings into the same words but for me they have been freeing.

“A well-lived life will find ways to harmonize with created rhythms. We’re part of the great symphony of life, but in our technological society we have drowned out the music. The phases of the moon, the tides of the sea, the seasons of the earth – nature is filled with cycles and seasons. Bears hibernate and birds migrate as winter descends. Trees flower and plants bloom as spring arrives. The stars mark time as they march across the sky. The rhythm model recognises and celebrates the rhythms of life.” 



A flower from my garden- perfect in its season



Rhythm honours time and movement; it celebrates variety and diversity, it highlights uniqueness and recognises common patterns. It honours excellence and the sacrifice required for achievements while also providing time for renewal.

Balance is pose. Rhythm is a dance

Balance is static. Rhythm is dynamic

Balance suggests you can have it all now.

Rhythm suggests you can have much, but over time.

Balance is control. Rhythm is embrace.

Balance is maintaining the system. Rhythm is seizing opportunities.

For me these words resonate with those of Solomon, who in his wisdom proposed that there is a time for everything and a season for every activity under heaven… a time to plant and a time to uproot, a time to tear down and a time to build, a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance, a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them, a time to search and a time to give up, a time to keep and a time to throw away, a time to tear and a time to mend, a time to be silent and a time to speak…   Solomon used a Hebrew word for time that refers to more than chronological time; it suggests an occasion or a season of time, what in Greek would be a kairos moment. Rather than seeking an artificial balance, Solomon is challenging us to live full-out in each and every season. When it is time to love, love with all your heart, when it is time to  dance, dance with everything you’ve got. When it is time to write, immerse yourself in it fully. Live full-out. When we live our lives in rhythm, we are free to give ourselves fully to every kairos season.

This has been helpful in all aspects of my life. It has helped me to think of writing rhythmically; to recognise there is a time for creative uninhibited flow, a time for editing, a time for leaving words to mull around in your head, a time for wrestling with single words and a thesaurus, a time for putting it all aside and then coming back and reading it anew, a time for sharing it with others, time for feedback, assessment, for letting go, for surrendering loved passages or words, a time for marketing and networking and promotion and selling, a time for resting from it all, for leaving the creative ground fallow so it is renewed. A time for distraction and self renewal, times for focusing on  other aspects of my life as they call me.

I can’t do all that at once. I can’t assign a balanced schedule to it all. When I try I feel overwhelmed and pressured. If I approach life with the idea of seasons and cycles, I can let it happen more naturally, allow it to flow as opportunity and motivation and creativity cycle through me. I can leave it to God’s spirit to arouse me and lead me.

For every good work that He began in me, He will bring to completion in His timing and everything will bear fruit in its right season.

I hope some of you will find a helpful word here. Carol