There’s a scene in The Sound of Music when Maria is troubled by her feelings for Captain von Trapp and what she believes is her calling to be a nun. Mother Superior asks Maria what she believes is most important.
Maria responds, “To find the will of God, and to do it.”
Somewhere along the line in church history we got the notion that being a Christian meant being miserable, giving up all of life’s pleasures and generally being a cranky bunch of people.
How did we ever read Scripture and come up with the idea that serving God would mean we’d have to do a whole bunch of stuff we didn’t want to do?
That’s not even what Scripture says:
Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.
Psalm 37:4
You see, God knows us. He created us. And I fully believe he put the desires in our hearts. For his purpose. For his pleasure. But also for our purpose.
In my favorite scene from Chariots of Fire, Eric Liddell says to his sister, Jenny, “I believe God made me for a purpose, but he also made me fast. And when I run I feel His pleasure.”
Okay, so I don’t run. But I do write.
More and more I’m finding that there are few things that motivate me like the opportunity to put words together on a page. Or, in this case, on a screen.
I spend a lot of time in my “real life job” putting together words spoken or written by someone else. That’s not necessarily the desire of my heart. Truth be told, if I had a little more freedom to edit the words…but that’s a different story.
What turns me on about writing?
I like creating things. Creating stories or articles feeds that.
I express myself better in writing. Most people who know me know that I’m generally quiet in a crowd. It’s not a matter of being shy. It’s a matter of needing to think before I speak (I don’t always). When I’m writing I don’t have to compete with those who always feel the need to be the center of attention and who think that everything they have to say needs to be said.
I took me a long time to get to this point. But maybe that journey was part of the process.
How do I know I’m a writer?
I’m passionate about it.
When it comes to any form of work, I’d rather be writing.
I constantly make notes about stories I want to write, characters I want to create, or plot twists to thinks I’ve already written.
I want to do it every day.
I get frustrated when things get in my way to keep me from writing (you know, like the day job).
I’m editing this post at 1:00 a.m., I have another article to finish and I have to work tomorrow.
While I know that means I will never see the inside of the gym tomorrow morning, that’s okay. I’m doing what I supposed to be doing.
I’m not sure I can echo Liddell’s words and say “when I write, I feel his pleasure.”
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