Dealing with Highs and Lows by Rebecca Seaton

Dealing with Highs and Lows by Rebecca Seaton

On top of the World...or under a cloud?

A couple of weeks ago, I had a very interesting weekend...

On the Friday, I attended the SCBWI Agents' Party. I was excited, not just at the possibility of meeting agents, but also at catching up with an old friend who was going to be there. Honestly, I was also nervous, but had decided to pitch to agents and had researched possibilities, including one I particularly wanted to meet, as she seemed a really good fit for what I write. To my delight, both the agents I met were lovely...and interested in my writing! This included the one I had really wanted to meet. I practically floated home, my mind buzzing at the possibilities and keen to get on with writing.

Then, on Saturday morning, I checked my Facebook. I was horrified to discover that an ex-pupil of mine had gone missing. Suddenly, my mind was full of very different possibilities. There was also little I could practically do besides sharing information on social media.

I was overwhelmed at the shift in my mood from elation to despair. But I read my bible and I prayed. I was reminded that, as someone at church had said when in difficult circumstances, 'This is not unexpected to God'. Ultimately, the same God I prayed to for the safety of my ex-pupil is the same God I prayed to for boldness at the SCBWI event.  Chart the life of any significant bible figure and there are dramatic highs and lows: David, Esther and Noah all come to mind. Then there's the disciples. They experienced the excitement and faith that went with seeing Jesus perform miracles, but were devastated by His death and often suffered from a lack of faith.

This reminds us that there are choices we can make. Judas saw the same miracles, lifestyle and teaching that the other disciples did, yet his response was to become angry that Jesus wasn't what Judas wanted Him to be. At the same time, Peter, despite experiencing as much fear, anger and confusion as he did awe and faith, was able to repent and to receive the commission to do God's work in making further disciples.

We know that we will experience ups and downs in our lives - especially in our writing. The joy that comes when an editor or agent shows an interest quickly wanes when the next communication says it can't go any further. Even the act of writing itself can ebb and flow as some chapters come seamlessly whilst the next one falters and shudders to completion. But if our lives and our writing are a real sacrifice to God, then He will meet us in it. In Psalm 55 it says, 'Cast your burden on the Lord and he shall sustain you' (Psalm 55:22). This is great news! But look a few verses earlier and we can see this is no fatalistic 'Oh, it's all in God's hands.' Instead, the psalmist says, 'I will pray, and cry aloud, and He shall hear my voice' (Psalm 55:17). The difficulty is remembering to stop still and pray, cry, shout and sing about what is happening to us. Good or bad, God is in it with us - He just wants us to share it with Him.

Rebecca Seaton mostly writes fantasy but would love to write a crime novel one day if she could just pin down a coherent plot. She manages a behaviour recovery provision for primary children and is on the advisory panel for Pen to Print, a Barking and Dagenham-based initiative for supporting emerging writers.  

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