Put Down the Pen

Don’t think for one minute that I don’t see the irony of titling a blog post “Put Down the Pen” while announcing that I have decided to pick up my pen and start regularly blogging again. Stay with me, I haven’t completely lost it. This post was inspired by a sister in Christ who graciously humbled me. She boldly informed me that I have been using my pen for all the wrong reasons. I have always loved to write, but it was not until recently when I discovered why I love writing so much. Writing a story is a process that is fully in the author’s hands. The story may be influenced by others, but ultimately the author gets to write exactly how they wish. The beginning, the middle, and the end are composed, read, and edited. If we don’t like the way something flows, we can easily tweak it. We can erase and rewrite as many times as we need to until it is exactly how we like it. We can tweak and edit until it is near perfection before presenting the finished piece to the world. I simply love to write because I am in control of the story, a story that is perfect according to my viewpoint. Sounds great, right? To be an author of a wonderful story. The problem begins when we try to write our own life story. I was going on and on about my life lately and how things have not been going quite the way I had planned when my sister in Christ looked at me and said, “Put down your pen; you are trying to write a story that God has already written.” So often we try to plan our lives in the ways that we perceive are best. We say things like “I have to be married by 25 and have my first kid by 30.” We do our best to plan out our worldly ideas or even to fit in our religious traditions that may or may not align with God’s word. While I think it is important not to just go through life nonchalantly flying by the seat of your pants, I have also come to realize that it is equally important to realize that we are not the author of our story and we need to be careful trying to meticulously plan every detail of our life as sometime we can be our biggest stumbling block. What can go wrong when we try and write our own story? We could easily end up outside of God’s will for our life and miss out on many blessings and opportunities God has for us. Writing your own story often leads to anxiety, disappointment, and exhaustion from striving to meet unattainable goals we have placed on ourselves. We chase external validation, force timelines, and grieve our failed plans. Our self-imposed impossible standards are simply unattainable and set us up for disappointment. No matter how hard we try, there is no autocorrect or undo button for life. In our own strength, we cannot create a perfect story. We only see one page when He already knows the end. So sister, surrender your pen and hand it over to the author. Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God. — Hebrews 12:2 So join me as I pick up my pen — this time to write of the goodness of God!