Our Faith walk and Writing

Trusting God and the Writing Process

After deciding to write and completing the ceremonies attached to the activity, I finally sit down and open my laptop.

PS: I can be very ceremonial. Sometimes I have to remind myself that everything mustn’t be perfect just so I can proceed to the next activity without wasting time.

Starting…

Now, my writing tool (MS Word) is open, and I have my armor of words – in my head, in my spirit, or as a document sourced from a dozen blogs on the internet. Well, where this armor is located depends on what I want to write and those to whom I am writing.

I begin…

Outline first!

And in a matter of a few focused minutes, my fingers have worked a hundred words. Or a few hundreds.

Enter…

Words again…

Delete…

More words…

Backspace…

Another heading…

Yet more words…

Backspace…

Words…

And I keep at this pace for like an hour or half an hour.

Sometimes, I get writer’s block and indulge in a sweet little distraction. But, I must confess that this distraction can sometimes stretch longer than necessary until I look at the clock, and I have to keep writing.

If the block persists, or I can’t seem to lay hold of enough words to convey a message, I start to journey toward a valley.

That valley where I feel like I still need to take a hundred more courses to successfully do this writing thing.

That valley where I feel I am not enough a writer to complete the task before me.

That valley where I feel I shouldn’t have promised to do anything with words for anyone.

But I don’t last long in that valley.

Because by the time I write my conclusion and shift words around in my first and second drafts, I start to love up on myself.

When I see how beautifully those words that were once a confused jumble dancing around my screen turn out, I can’t help but remove cap for myself.

Sometimes I’m like, ‘this girl is a badass writer’!

Other times, I forward the piece of writing with words like ‘check this out! I’m sure you love it!’

What confidence!

But wait, where are we headed with all this?

Our lives can be likened to my writing process.

We start out, sometimes, not knowing how it would turn out. Or, we start out learning the end goal, what is required of us, but have no clue about how the end goal will be achieved.

Your ambitions, those prophecies you’ve received, your life goals. Remember?

Along the line, it seems like nothing is making any sense, and you may even question if God knows what He’s doing at all or if He even cares.

Been there?

Here’s What I do at those junctures where I feel like I’m a terrible writer

First, I ensure I’m writing with an outline:

That confusion that comes with putting the first draft together is usually worse when I DO NOT have an outline. And sometimes, I end up in the middle of nowhere until I clearly establish (in words, please) where I’m headed with each piece of writing.

Sweetheart, your life needs an outline – notably so, with the distractions and confusions raging all over the internet.

And I’m not talking about an inflated wish list culled from celebrities on social media (sorry – emoji).

You need to know what God would have you do with your life and have that at your fore. You need to ensure that your life is in tune with God’s music (you gerrit?).

How?

He needs to tell you what His thoughts for you are and how He plans to get you there.

And you know I won’t ask you to go to God if you are yet to take that first, bold, and most important step, right?

You can’t earnestly seek to know His plans for you when you don’t have His life. You need to receive the life God presented to mankind upon Jesus’ death, burial and resurrection. In doing this, you can pick the signals of His communications and know His Outline for you.

I type every word with patience.

Once I have an outline, I’m sure I can never go wrong while writing. I may only need to cut myself – and my text – some slack. After that, I’ll need to wait patiently for my final draft to materialize.

In the same way, when you know where your Scriptwriter wants you, you’ve got to relax and know that His ways are way higher than ours (by a billion light-years!).

When you know and understand that the thoughts He thinks towards you are thoughts of good and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope, you’ll relax in this hope.

You’ll know that those random experiences (even the bad), like my random words still achieved my writing aim, will get you where He intends for you.

You’ll labor in faith, knowing that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to His purpose.

You will rejoice in the Lord of your salvation because even if life decides to turn right side left or downside up, it will still end in your good.

And if you mess things up now and then?

You won’t beat yourself up. You’ll repent and keep moving, knowing that you are work-in-progress, just like that piece of writing.

I keep looking forward to the “wows” I know I’ll give at the end.

And yes, those wows will come, and you’ll see that God is a perfect Scriptwriter, and He’s skillfully scribbled every word in the script of your life.

He’s factored the good, the bad, and the ugly into that script so that no matter the turn life decides to take, everything would end up the way He intends them.

You’ll look back and find that every experience, every tear, every sob, every laughter, all the endurance, and the shame will work out God’s plan in your life. They’ll even serve to make your story even more beautiful to behold.

Have you experienced the workings of God in any area of your life?

Will you start to trust the process? And maybe sprinkle some more patience on it?

Or have you found any regular activity similar to your walk with God? I’m eager to hear from you! So do leave your comments below!