Remember! by Sue Russell

Like many readers of this blog, I suspect, not so long ago we were hemmed in by an unusual belt of weather which brought heavy snow. I live in a small village and while the main roads were soon clear the side roads were perilous. We got out regularly (for the dog) but most of our routine activities  were cancelled and I found myself with swathes of time - not something I normally enjoy. I was able to get on with my WIP and found that the time available was matched by my fluency - I was flying, and it was great!
As the snow departed, however, disaster struck: my almost 40,000 words vanished from my screen and everywhere else. I'd saved, of course, but hadn't got round to backing up as I normally do. There followed several extremely anxious days. Happily between a friend and my husband the majority was retrieved, and since then I have rewritten the lost words (some 3-4,000) and gone on beyond. Of course the moral is to back up assiduously and frequently; but it set me thinking along other lines.
We always give thanks, briefly, before meals. Every morning I thank God for his protection and provision. Usually I ask for his defence when I get into the car (not just against having an accident but also against causing one.) But I don't always remember to lay my work before him as I begin, and during those snow days I definitely didn't, which may have been at least part of the trouble.)
I assume that as Christians we are writing for God's glory, whether we write fiction or non-fiction, with overtly Christian themes or more generally from a Christian worldview. If we are using the gifts he has given us and are honestly trying to fulfil our calling, I don't see that it matters, though it has caused a few debates among ACW members.
If I had remembered, each time I sat at my computer to add more words to the growing pile, to rededicate my work to God and remind myself that all this activity was for his glory, not my own, I wonder if I might have slowed down enough not to carelessly consign those words to oblivion (if indeed it was my own fault, which is likely.)
To be speedy is my default, and there are times when it has its uses; but at other times it can invite, if not always catastrophe, then muddle, chaos and frayed tempers (mine, normally.) I shall try in future to pray for the right words, the right attitude, and the Holy Spirit's guidance, before I open my laptop's lid and plunge in. Who knows what benefits might result?
I should, no doubt, have done just that before writing this blog post - ironically, I forgot!

Sue writes as S.L.Russell and has six novels available in the usual places. The most recent, 'A Vision of Locusts', was published by Instant Apostle in 2017.