Are You Struggling With Your Writing? Let God Decide Where to Put You!

by Lynn H Blackburn

Several years ago, my dad made a beautiful mirrored coat rack. I had the perfect wall for it and it hung in a place of prominence in my home where it received oohs and ahhs from friends, family, and guests.
Then we moved.
Our new home has an open floor plan with short walls. Most of the long walls are full of windows. There isn't a single spot in the house that made sense for the coat rack. I guess I could have hung it in the dining room. It would've made a great conversation starter, but it also would've made it functionally useless.
So with nowhere to put it, I placed it in a hall closet where it sat unused for six months before I realized I was being an idiot.
Because there was one other spot.
But it was so wrong.
No one but my family would ever see it. It seemed such a waste.
My coat rack doesn't belong there. It's too pretty. Too precious.
Then again, I knew my dad never intended for the coat rack to take up space in a closet.
He intended for me to use it.
So we hung it…In the garage.
Where we've used it every day since.
As I went through this process, I couldn't help but notice the parallels to my writing.
I don't know about you, but when I started writing, it never occurred to me to write anything other than a book. After all, isn't that what real writers do? They write books, make a fortune, buy a cozy bungalow, and churn out more books as they sip coffee and eat scones. Right?
Please don't get me wrong. I'm a big fan of books. Some of my best friends are books.
But as 2014 dawns, I'm wondering if I need to rethink the purpose of my writing. I'm convinced God gifted me with the ability and desire to write and I'm certain He didn't intend for my words to be stored on a hard drive where they won’t do anyone any good.
Maybe there's a book in my future. I'm still working on it. But in the meantime, I can write blog posts, devotions, and articles about whatever God leads me to say.
Then I can leave it up to Him to use as He sees fit.
God may plan for my words to reach thousands. Or He may plan for my words to reach just one.
I'll admit, my pride likes the idea of thousands. After all, we live in a world that focuses on the numbers. Preferably big numbers.
Thankfully, we serve a God who uses everything at His disposal to go after the one lost sheep.
Maybe He's using you.
Or He would, if you'd let Him decide where to put you.

Lynn Huggins Blackburn has been telling herself stories since she was five and finally started writing them down. She blogs about faith, family, and her writing journey on her blog Out of the Boat. Lynn is a member of the Jerry B. Jenkins Christian Writers Guild and the Word Weavers, Greenville. She lives in South Carolina where she hangs out with three lively children, one fabulous man, and a cast of imaginary characters who find their way onto the pages of her still unpublished novels. She drinks a lot of coffee.

TWEETABLESWhat does being a writer look like? @LynnHBlackburn reminds us it's different for each of us! (Click to Tweet)
Are you struggling with your writing? @LynnHBlackburn suggests you let God decide where to put you! (Click to Tweet)