PASSION

But be sure to fear the LORD and serve Him faithfully with all your heart; consider what great things He has done for you. I Samuel 12:24 NIV

Squirrels run wild in our yard, which doesn’t suit our terrier mixes. Or maybe it does. All three burn with passion to take them on—and when a squirrel hits the ground on the other side of a fence, major frustration.   

I know that feeling. When I’m hot on the trail, trying to capture a thought or insight or scene with pen and ink, but folks and circumstances interrupt and those words escape to hide and taunt me, I am lost. That frustration can burn holes in a soul, like in the Langston Hughes poem, A Raisin in the Sun.* 

  

What’s a passionate soul to do?

Wait on Jesus, because some of those interruptions are my work for that day. Sometimes the small things are that day’s large things, because those interruptions are part of my spiritual gift. I touch people, sometimes with my hands or a hug, sometimes just listening, sometimes with the words I write.

But still I count down the days of my life, wondering if I’ll ever get to publish my series, or even finish one book.

That’s His call.

All I have to do is stay close to Him and let Him choose each day’s assignment. Eventually He’ll make a way back to my God-given passion, will help me to finish what He’s given me to write. But whether He lets me publish in my lifetime or not, He will not waste these stories. Maybe He’ll use them after I’m gone. Maybe they’ll be left behind to shine His light for folks who’re still here after we’re raptured.

Little is much when God is in it.  

Avi, thank You. Thank You for the talent and stories You’ve given me, the desire to write them well. Thank You for the compassion You placed in me, for the awareness to see who needs You in me each day. Help me to be faithful. Help me to be patient. Most of all, thank You for doing the work through me, for I cannot.

In Your Holy Name, Amen.