You could say my creative mind was in a rut for most of 2013. I would stare at the computer screen or open a notebook. And nothing. I had ideas, but I either told myself they weren’t good or I didn’t have the time or the energy to develop them. I even chocked it up to being a tired, uncomfortable pregnant woman.
But recently, I was reminded of something else.
Works that really impact people’s lives “take a journey or a process to write.”
I read that in a 2010 interview with worship leader and songwriter Kari Jobe on the All About Worship blog. She encouraged aspiring writers to journal, and told the interviewer that she was able to write many of her songs because they came from her journal and the time she spent with God.
Suddenly, I remembered that my favorite works took quite a journey, and one much like Kari Jobe’s.
It was a journey where I allowed my faith to inspire my creativity.
At some point each day, I would read a devotional and have a bit of quiet time to jot down all the things I felt God needed me to know that day along with my thoughts and anything I wanted to write about.
This was something I’d done at different points over the years. Many times it was during the morning hours. Other times, it was during my lunch break.
It was always good for me…at the time.
But the thought of missing a day unnerved me.
So I’d quit.
And that’s what happened last year.
I stopped inviting the presence of God into my process.
I stopped asking for his hand to guide my heart.
I stopped taking note of the daily nuggets of wisdom that were offered to me through others.
And I stopped reflecting on the moments where I knew His hand was writing a lesson for my life class.
I missed opportunities to clearly write about so many beautiful moments and timely lessons that could impact others. And I lost opportunities to find extended comfort on my weary days.
Instead, with a cluttered mind, I was trying to write for the sake of writing; the sake of adding another post to my homepage with a more current date.
And that is no good for anyone.
Luckily, God didn’t let those tries become my doings.
Do you journal or have a special quiet time? How do you stick to it and keep it sacred?
