When God first revealed to me that He'd given me not only the gift of writing, but the desire to write, I eagerly followed where He led. And my writing flourished.
But a demon I thought had been vanquished snuck in the back door. His name? Mammon. And his his buddies Vanity and Jealousy were on his right and left.
At my fingertips were links to expert advice on all things faith, writing, and writing in faith. At first I read and studied the craft of writing, the nuts and bolts and how to's. And for a good time, I practiced and grew in knowledge and skill.
But at some point I was tempted away from the how-to-write links by the numerous and tantalizing how-to-publish articles. And, because of my newly realized potential, I saw a lot of shiny doors just begging me to push them open and walk through.
And I aimed at all of them.
See, I thought that's what I was supposed to do. Aren't writers are supposed to make a name for themselves? publish articles? find an agent? write a novel? That's what the world was telling me, and I listened.
What I lost track of was the original door God lead me to. The door He opened for me. He never told me to stop heading in that direction. He never told me to look at other doors and then force one open.
So I'm back at the beginning. I want to write only for God's glory, doing my best to step through the doors He opens for me instead of head-butting possibilities that that aren't meant for me.
"...let’s just go ahead and be what we were made to be,
without enviously or pridefully comparing ourselves with each other,
or trying to be something we aren’t.
Romans 12:6 (The Message)
Following that instruction, my friends, is not going to be easy for me. But I'm going to try. I'm looking forward to seeing what's down this path. Prayers for focus and perseverance are appreciated.
Catrina Bradley
"God rewrote the text of my life when I opened the book of my heart to his eyes." Psalm 18:24 (Msg)
