We arrived at the Blue Ridge Mountain Christian Writers Conference this past Sunday.
Y’all know how much I despise breathtaking views, fresh mountain air, books, and writing.
I was obviously “taking one for the team” when I offered to accompany my daughter to this conference. Purely unselfish motives, folks.
To help Maddie discover how best to pursue a writing career, I was forced to endure countless writing classes, workshops, and prepared meals. Brutal.
The super-friendly people and mandatory afternoon lattes, honestly threatened my last straw of patience.
This was clearly all for my kid.
Despite being grudgingly dragged up a mountain to the Ridgecrest Conference Center, the inner writer in me began to awaken.
I was inspired by key note addresses in which we were challenged to tell our story.
I was enlightened by authors teaching the nitty gritty of their craft.
I was motivated with each passing day to write more and to write better.
The thing is… I have often questioned whether my pursuit of writing is a selfish endeavor.
I can’t always seem to justify the hours I spend weaving words.
Confused about how to prioritize my responsibilities, I have picked up my blogging, only to put it back down again, when life’s demands grow too heavy.
Time is so very limited for all of us.
It’s especially precious at this current juncture of my life.
I have a husband I adore, whose arms I want to fall asleep in at night.
I have seven children I cherish…seven souls I need to mother, shape, and love.
I take my roles seriously. I want to get them right.
I wish to succeed at being a wife and mother.
But what if in all of my succeeding, I’m really failing?
What if in the busyness of serving my family, I’m failing to obey a different calling God has on my life…
A calling to be the light to a lost and dying world?
God has taken me on journeys that have changed me.
Journeys especially designed for a girl who wrestles and resists.
Journeys that breakdown self-reliance and cause a stubborn girl to fall on her knees in surrender.
And what if God has written these stories to benefit someone other than myself ?
What if God has chosen me to pen a story that shares His forgiveness, kindles new faith, and restores hope?
I’m confident God never intended for my light to be kept to myself, hidden from view.
My initial inspiration for this blog reminds me of my mission.
I want to leave behind a legacy of faith.
I strive to live a life surrendered.
I seek to illuminate darkness with the stories He has woven into my life.
And surely my willingness to pursue writing will not be considered selfish, if He is at the center of it.
And if He is at the center of it, surely it will not be a failure, but a success.
Lord, It would be a privilege to be used as Your instrument.
Use me.
”No one, after lighting a lamp, puts it away in a cellar nor under a basket, but on the lampstand,
so that those who enter may see the light.” Luke 11:33 NASB
