Writing - the Father's gift.

Those who are planted in the house of the Lord  
Shall flourish in the courts of our God.

They shall still bear fruit in old age;They shall be fresh and flourishing,   

To declare that the Lord is upright;He is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in Him.

                                                Psalm 92:13-15

Christmas comes but once a year, but I confess the older I get the quicker it seems to arrive.  A birthday on 1^st January exacerbates that!  However, I have been cheered this year to read the above verses.

 

As with the story in the Bible of those who were given talents I see my writing as a talent to invest in the Lord’s truth. So I will believe that it will remain fresh and flourish in the days ahead.  Jane Austin, Dickens, Shakespeare and others couldn’t have foreseen how their books would out live them over decades and centuries. It surely is in every writer’s heart’s a desire for their work to remain relevant, popular and generate sales long after their death.  

 

For me, my desire and aim is to germinate the seeds of the Lord’s life invested in human kind.  The aim of my fictional novels is to romance the soul and spirit and share the supernatural experiences either I, or someone I personally know, have experienced. Seeds that may have fallen on stony ground I want to believe will be moved by my characters as they go through life’s trials, but are changed as they begin to trust the Father heart of God and experience His love for them. 

I've just finished book four of six and like most writers’ have had plot struggles. I often ask the Lord for help. He not only answers, but in this one inspired the last chapters.  It’s an unusual scenario, which incredibly already had been set up in the previous book.  And, when I’d finished writing my husband spotted a new documentary series covering this growing problem!

So like the strap line “A dog isn’t just for Christmas” I’m totally convinced, neither is God!   I long to see the seeds of that truth permeate into lives, that young and old will be planted in the house of the Lord to take root, grow and bear fruit for Him. 

Writing is a gift from God.   Whatever you write, whether it’s an email to a friend to bring comfort in their grief, a card to welcome a new baby, a personal note in a Christmas card, or even a letter of complaint, He wants to inspire and give you wisdom to touch the heart of those who receive it.  As Shakespeare wrote, “If music be the food of love, let’s play on…”  And one way or another we need to keep passing the parcel of truth, believing as each person unwraps a layer, Jesus will be seen in the centre of our lives, and they will want to know Him too. 

Ruth Johnson