Income or Outcome? by Glynis M. Belec

Today I scribbled down some more notes in my big green idea ledger. I love my old fashioned scribbler - it's a warm and wonderful story place where I go to get refuelled if I run out of ideas.

I know it's kind of dopey in this day and age to use such a relic to store ideas. I should get with it technologically speaking and create an idea file for such thoughts. But there is just something wonderfully stimulating when I crack open the pages of my 'old faithful' looking for inspiration. Maybe a little nostalgic; perhaps a little comforting; definitely the place to go for this gal.

Some of the ideas in this book are from decades ago, but it's quite amazing and fascinating to me when fresh ideas from my old notes surface. And they really do. When I page through the old book I often feel articles or story lines percolate and sometimes an entire editorial bubbles to the surface and then it is all I can do to get the words typed into my trusty laptop.

Many of the entries in my ledger are lists. Some are random words or clever thoughts I had or ideas I heard from sermons, speakers, children's conversations.

The title for this piece held a particular fascination for me today as I leafed through my ledger. Income or Outcome? I started to consider what the dickens I was talking about when I wrote down those two random words.

Then I got to thinking. My writing. Do I do it for the income or do I do it for the outcome? Not sure where I heard or read this saying, but really those few words hold a lot of wisdom. Yes, sure I would love to say I write and earn a great income from arranging and rearranging the 26 letters of the alphabet on a page. But sad to say t'ain't so! I do earn some income from writing and I love that because I get to contribute to the household finances. More important to me, however, is the outcome of my writing.

Nothing stirs my heart more than to hear that a child is taking one of my books to bed with him or that she couldn't put my book down because she just had to find out what happened next. Or if someone said they see Jesus in my words. Or I encouraged them to keep on keeping on in the faith.

When I wrote my column in the local newspaper, my greatest reward was not the $2 a column inch I received each week. Rather it was the words of a reader saying, "I loved your column this week. I sure can relate!" Or if someone told me they clipped one of my columns and it is now on their fridge! Sweet joy.

When the outcome of something I have written gives someone joy or comfort or peace or intrigue, or draws them to a closer walk with the Lord, then I am content.

God has given me a passion to write. I love it when he connects the dots from fresh ideas inspired by jottings in my ledger and then transfers them to words on the page.

Income is nice, but when the outcome glorifies God then I feel rich beyond measure!

Writers rejoice when they can reach their audience with the right words at the right time.

A person finds joy in giving an apt reply— and how good is a timely word!

— Proverbs 15:23