I’ve been reading with interest responses to writer’s block,
which appears to be the experience of most—Glynis excepted: way to go,
girl!—but providing varied responses to the phenomenon. Most feel it is a battle
to fight, especially if it impedes deadlines or commitment. Both Bobbi and
Tracy have some good tips on that.
Even then, we fight not against bricks and mortar, or more
close to home, blocks and writer, but against spiritual opposition from the
highest levels. But some, like Sandi and Connie, have suggested writer’s block
is part of the ebb and flow of a writer’s spiritual life.
Perhaps we can garner support for that idea from Solomon:
“There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven .
. . ” Ecclesiastes 3:1. Ann and I penned a devotional in our book, Happy Together, showing how this
“interference” is really part of earthly life.
There’s nothing like a day of
accomplishment when everything goes according to plan and is complete. But we
also have frustrating days of redo, repair, or failure, achieving nothing of
significance.
Upon reflection,
we realize that there must be times for preparation, planning, and evaluation;
times for correcting previous work or adapting to changing circumstances; even
times for rethinking and renewing the way we live.
In the big picture
both the time of advance and apparent retreat are all part of the same process.
To advance tomorrow as we did yesterday, we may need to retrench today. Today’s
reading (Eccl. 2:9–14) gives some rationale to this process. In it we recognize
a bigger picture than we can see, even when questions are unanswered: “the
burden God has laid on men.”
This is
particularly true of the setbacks of life, which baffle us. At those times
Ecclesiastes exhorts us to find satisfaction in the daily routine, recognizing
that every day has meaning in God’s bigger picture beyond our grasp.
Relationship in
marriage is much the same. The conflict and abrasion between partners
discourages us. Stopping and dealing with interpersonal relations seems an unnecessary
disruption in other important areas of life.
But in the larger
picture, it is part of the process, as necessary as the times of joy and
companionship together—and in the end deepens the relationship.
It’s often
necessary to leave the big picture to God and trust him with what we can’t
figure out.
So let’s put that infernal writer’s block in its place. It’s
an opportunity to recharge; perhaps to read, wander, smell the roses. Above
all, enjoy the pleasure of His company and so deepen the well from which
inspiration springs.
