I made it. Thirty-one days. My hat is off to 365-days-a-year
bloggers, because writing daily for just one month has been challenging.
Whenever I finish a book, a screenplay, Nanowrimo, or a
project like this, I get a fresh insight into perseverance and what it takes to
see something through to the end.
Writing daily for me is more than putting a post out
there every day. It’s about what God teaches me through the writing, and it’s
about keeping a promise. The world would not stop spinning if I didn’t post
every day in October as I said I would, and if I skipped days, we’d all get
over it. But it was important to me to continue, so I have prayed for God’s grace to persevere.
I’m sure that God has taught me far more this month than
anyone reading these posts.
In my continuing effort to memorize the book of James before
I go see Jesus, I’m remembering this verse: “Let perseverance finish its work,
so that you may be mature and complete not lacking anything” (James 1:4)
Perseverance in this writing project helps me with perseverance in life. Set
the goal, take each moment as it comes, look for creative ways to deal with the
problems, don’t panic, pray, listen, watch for what God is doing.
And as for fresh strength—God is renewing my focus. Often,
the underlying cause of our spiritual lethargy lies in the fact that we’ve
allowed ourselves to be distracted. This month, I’ve spoken several times,
participated in a weekly Bible study, experienced a concentrated time of prayer
and fasting with my church, as well as posting daily here. It’s helped me spiritually
to refocus. But what I do next is key. Because when this intense time of
spiritual renewal in October segues into November, I can once more allow myself
to be dragged down a path of loud distractions.
In November, I’m pursuing a new fictional story, so posting
less frequently here will open up the time for that pursuit. That’s a good
thing, but I’ll miss meeting with you here every day. I pray that somehow, you’ve found a
bit of renewal as you’ve made this thirty-one day journey with me.
I’m looking forward to what God will do next.