Lately, I've been dealing with the feeling of discouragement. I have no external reasons to feel discouraged. No negative comments. No rejections. So this feeling is all in my head. Or, more accurately, this feeling is from Satan. And how is Satan having this success? Probably because I have not been discussing my writing future with the only one who will give me a writing future. Yep, my prayer life needs some work. Every Sunday my preacher brings up prayer in his sermon and I'm starting to think he might as well start pointing his finger at me
So I'm trying to fix my problem. With prayer, of course. And after twenty years of a relationship with God, why am I still surprised to find him listening? I know this may have been a coincidence, but later in the day, after I had asked God to help me fight this feeling that I should give up because Sarah Cameron fails because of xyz, I pulled up behind a truck at a stop sign. This truck had the usual Alaska bumper stickers, since it was in Alaska. One mentioned Palin and another said something about hunting. But one bumper sticker was somewhat out of place. It was a Chicago Cubs bumper sticker. Now Sarah Cameron lives in Illinois and she is a Chicago Cubs fan. So was it simply a coincidence that a truck in Alaska, with Alaska plates, should be in front of me with a bumper sticker for Sarah Cameron's favorite baseball team? Or is this one of God's red flags telling me that he hasn't forgotten about her and neither should I? Either way, no matter what my inner demons tell me, I am not giving up.
hey sarah. i saw your post to the ACFW loop and thought i'd pop over to your blog. i feel you about not having as much time to write as you want and getting down and discouraged. i'm in this limbo period waiting for my husband to finish school and support our family while i write. i've got about 10 years to go. but i'm doing exactly what you're doing. inner demons be darned. keep plugging away, reaching high, and keeping God first and center. it'll all fall into place when it's supposed to. i've written a couple of encouraging posts for writers on my blog. i'm a licensed therapist and just see it as an honor to help others anyway i can. :) check it out when you have time.
ReplyDeletejeannie
the character therapist