Cracks of Time by Sharon Heagy

Imagine, if you will, waking up after a restful night of sleep. Yawn. Stretch. Scratch. Gracefully you exit the bedroom and greet the day – hugs to the family, shuck the cat under the chin and ruffle the fur on the head of the dog. Your nose searches out the wondrous aroma of morning coffee and you pour the black liquid gold into your favourite cup and take a big satisfying whiff of the elixir in your hand.  Ahhhhh.  Quietly and efficiently your family exits the house with hugs, ‘have a good day’ and pecks on the cheek.  Languidly you stroll to your writer’s nook, flip on a little background music and settle into your chair to work uninterrupted for the next number of hours on your latest and greatest creation.  Ah, yes, the writing life.

Wh-what? Wake up! Wake up, I say! It is a dream, not reality. Ok, maybe it is reality for some writers out there but none that I have encountered thus far.  Their experience is more like – ‘I have half an hour, quick write’ – ‘Oh, that’s a good idea. I’d better write that down.’ – ‘Where is that scrap of paper I used to write down that good idea?’- ‘I’m on a bus, train or plane, in the mall, the Dr’s office, the restaurant, scribbling furiously in my notebook or frantically typing on a tablet or printing on my napkin which I clutch to my chest as the server clears the table.’ This is the flipside to that perfect writer’s life.

Many of us write in the cracks of time – sometimes seconds, sometimes minutes and sometimes, praise God, for a few blissful hours.  But the cracks can be productive if we use them wisely.

The clearing of grey skies begins with a crack in the clouds exposing a small patch of brilliant blue. The fracture increases in size until only azure is visible in the expanse above.  A farmer’s field begins with cracks in the seeds planted below the surface. Sprouts spring up and push through cracks they themselves create in the soil and eventually a carpet of green plants covers the field.

Take heart, dear writer.  Writing in the cracks produces a plethora of stories, poems and articles.  So, write, write, write! The writer’s cry should not be I only have 5 minutes but I actually have 5 minutes. I can write, I can edit, I can envelope myself in what God has called me to do for a fabulous five.

God loves cracks, of this I am convinced. He must. The people he used throughout scripture are cracked and flawed. Consider the mighty men and women used by God – they all had cracks.  In fact, I think it might be a pre-requisite. Didn’t Paul say, “I delight in my weaknesses…for when I am weak then I am strong”? (2Corinthians 12:10) When we recognize our cracks and show them to our Father, he pours his Holy Spirit into every nook and cranny, filling us to bursting so that new creative cracks appear. He then flows right through us and splashes words on a page to touch the hearts of others.

God is on our side and works for our good and he has indeed called us to this craft for His good pleasure.

Romans 8:28 – “ and we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose”

Fearless writer be encouraged and be of good cheer. Use these portals of production whenever they occur.  Seize them and turn them into treasures of time. Open your cracks to Him and let His goodness and creativity flow through you.