Some of those I haven't even thought about in years. Some were very short-lived, others I stuck with longer. I actually studied writing in college, and consider that my "career" (or it will be, after I get through this raising-young-children phase in life!). I've been thinking lately about why I stick with some things, and give up on others. Skill certainly plays a role. I gave up on sewing because I can't stitch a straight line to save my life. Replace "stitch" with "draw" and you have the reason I gave up on drawing. I'm totally fine with these decisions. I don't lie awake at night thinking about a sewing project.
However, some things I don't do haunt me. I do lie awake at night dreaming up potential blog posts, mentally writing journal entries, and occasionally composing a poem. I feel guilty when I don't get those ideas out of my head and into reality. I'm involved in a Bible study right now about contentment, and I'm realizing that these stagnant creative ideas are a major roadblock to contentment in my life. It's not just something I want to do - these are passions and ideas and words that I believe God has gifted me with, and to do nothing is to believe that I know better than God what to do with my time and my gifts. How do I know when certain ideas/promptings/thoughts are from the Holy Spirit, and not the devil trying to distract me and waste my time? I'm running everything through the filter God provided: "Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable - if anything is excellent or praiseworthy - think about such things," Philippians 4:8.
All this to say, I believe God's telling me to blog. Not for others, not because I have something particularly special or exciting to say, but just to share my life and whatever He puts on my mind. I think that part of the reason I'm struggling with feelings of discontent, guilt over how I spend my time, and general malaise is that I'm ignoring these promptings. I frequently use the excuse of "no time," yet I manage to find time to cultivate a thriving castle in Castleville. I'm learning to use spare minutes here and there to get cleaning done, and I'm sure with practice I can blog in 2-minute intervals, too! God gifted me with a talent for writing, and a desire to share my stories.
Has the Holy Spirit been prompting you lately? Do your thoughts keep returning to a particular idea, but you aren't sure why? God cares about every aspect of our lives, even our creative pursuits. Next time an idea keeps "popping up" in your thoughts, and it lines up with Philippians 4:8, do it instead of making excuses!
P.S. All this creative thinking today finally shoved me past the scrapbooking block I've been moping around in lately and I finished a page!
I really enjoyed this!! Thank you for sharing & being vulnerable w/ where you are =)
ReplyDeleteThanks so much - I'm glad you enjoyed it! I find it helps me to work through my own issues when I share them with others, something about the process of verbalizing (er, writing) it, helps me think about things in a different way.
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