I am thankful for inspiration. On a daily basis, I sit at my desk for hours on end, typing on a keyboard, sitting far away from those I hope to delight with my developing story. Will it grab my readers’ imagination and take them on mind-blowing adventures? Will it reach to the heart and inspire uplifting and transforming contemplation? From the vantage point of a desk with only a small window to the outside world, it can feel as if I am casting dust to the wind.

When I sit with my fingers poised to tap out the next word, I sometimes wonder how this tangled mess of a story will ever be fashioned into the hope I have for it. During the early stages, it often seems impossible. Yet, no matter how snarled the story is at the moment, it always works out at the end, and I am never lacking in astonishment. I look back and ask, “How did that happen?”

I gather ideas from bizarre dreams, random thoughts from others, and unlikely circumstances, then toss them into a cauldron, heat it over the fires of passion, and stir with the spoon of imagination. The result is often a fetid swill. The ingredients are wonderful, but the chef botched the cooking and needs to rework the recipe to transform the result from stinking sewage to a savory soup.

Sometimes I will delete several thousands words with a single keystroke, muttering to myself, “What was I thinking? This is terrible.” Then I will add something fresh and vibrant, resulting in a pumped fist and a hearty, “Yes!” Sometimes the story stalls, and the delays make me wonder if I will ever finish, but then the inspiration comes in a way that could not have occurred if there had not been a delay. The story needed to wait. It required a season of mental simmering.

Now whenever I run into a creative blockade, and it feels like I am pushing a stubborn story along, I look back at these events and gain new confidence that it will work out. It always has before. The inspiration always arrives exactly when I need it.

Thank you, Lord, for providing inspiration. I am writing for you, and to continue cooking up ways to attract readers to your love, I need all the help I can get.

(Here is an example of a series of miraculous events that breathed life into a story – http://www.theauthorschair.com/shopping/DimeTwoPennies.pdf)

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Categories: Thoughts from the Heart

Tags: Author, devotions, spiritual