Writer’s Devotional

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By Donna Clark Goodrich

But they all alike began to make excuses (Luke 14:18).

What’s Your Excuse for Not Writing?

            I’d like to write but . . .

We’ve all probably heard—and perhaps used—every excuse for not putting pen to paper, or hands to keyboards, after God has called us to write:

I have small children.

I don’t have a computer (or I haven’t mastered my computer).

I’m taking care of my parents.

I’m involved in church/school/community activities.

I’m not talented like my friend __________.

I’m afraid I will be rejected.

And the one I’ve heard most often:

I don’t have a place in my house to write. My kitchen/bedroom/family room is too hot/cold/noisy/small.

Maybe you should consider Irina Ratushinskaya. Imprisoned for 3½ years for anti-Soviet writings, Irina was denied paper and pencil except twice a month to write letters to her parents and husband in the Ukraine.

But Irina didn’t let this stop her from writing. Spending 120 days in a punishment cell where the temperature was kept just above freezing, Irina used what was left of a burned matchstick and secretly carved 250 poems into a bar of soap with a matchstick. She then washed each poem away after memorizing it.

When released in 1986, she flew with her husband to London where she received treatment for heart and lung problems aggravated by the imprisonment.

What’s your excuse? Whatever it is, God has the answer.

You’re not talented like your friend? “We have different gifts, according to the grace given us” (Romans 12:6).

What if I fail? “Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and your plans will succeed” (Proverbs 16:3).

I’m not a good writer? “Not that we are competent in ourselves to claim anything for ourselves, but our competence comes from God” (2 Corinthians 3:5).

I don’t have time? “Seek first the kingdom of God, and all these things shall be added unto you” (Matthew 6:33).

I don’t have a computer or an office? Try a bar of soap in a freezing jail cell.

 
Donna's pix #3Donna Clark Goodrich, Mesa, Arizona, is a speaker and author of 24 books and over 700 published manuscripts. She and her husband Gary have 3 children and 2 granddaughters. A freelance proofreader/editor and speaker, she enjoys writing devotionals, self-help books, and personal experience articles. Her latest books are https://encrypted-tbn1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRVrOytEAF_OOU4myzd__B1OWdgKB49QcFLbN1ZC8NAS5cEh0642QA Step in the Write Direction—the Complete How-to Book for Christian Writers, and The Freedom of Letting Go. Contact her at dgood648@aol.com or www.thewritersfriend.net. She also blogs every Monday at: http://donna-goodrich.blogspot.com

 

 

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2 Comments

  1. Sandra Fischer

     /  July 17, 2013

    Donna – what a precious and encouraging word to us as writers. Thank you for this devotional. In His grip, Sandra Fischer

    Reply
  2. PAT ROWLAND

     /  July 17, 2013

    This is a beautiful story that I had not heard before. Thanks for posting.

    Reply

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