Day 14: Writing In The Raw

Well, I made it to Day 14 of 21. Honestly, I'm kinda proud of myself. I would like to say that I finish everything I start, but that would be a lie. I have about a dozen unfinished projects that I need to complete. I just don't ever seem to have the time or energy to complete them. However, this blog challenge is different because I really prayed about what God wanted me to do regarding my writing. He told me to blog for twenty-one days straight. I wish my response would have been more "holy," but it was more like, "Seriously? I've basically been "mute" for the last several months and now you want me to "talk" for twenty-one days straight? What in the world am I going to write about?!" Yep, real holy. But, because he told me to do it, he's given me what I've needed so far and I know he'll see me through to the end. (Of course, knowing God and his tremendous sense of humor, twenty-one days is probably not the end, but most likely the beginning...we'll see.)

I mentioned on Day 1, that I had been "stuck" for a pretty long time. I've been giving some thought as to why I literally couldn't blog for a while, and in an email conversation with an old friend, I think I figured it out. When I'm in an emotionally raw place, that's when I get writer's block. You would think that's where my best writing would come from, and you would be right in thinking that. But, when I am already feeling raw and vulnerable to everything and everyone, the last thing I want to do is expose that to anyone. I told my friend I was afraid if I wrote in the middle of the chaos and pain, it would come out too honest, too raw, too exposed. And maybe my heart wouldn't have been able to handle any form of criticism that could have come my way as a result of "writing in the raw".

Well, maybe I was right, and maybe I was wrong. But God's timing is so amazing. If I'm being super honest, it's also usually really frustrating. But, it's always perfect. My friend was the one who motivated me to start blogging again. She shared a blog post with me from a woman about my age who had a child that was stillborn. The transparency of this woman was beautiful and heartbreaking at the same time. I was so ministered to by her courage in the face of unimaginable grief, and it made me wonder if I had been wrong in not writing through my darkest days. That's when I prayed and asked God what He wanted me to do with my blog.

He knows that I am still in a raw and vulnerable place right now. But I'm not where I was six months ago. Through the dark days, he was preparing me to write again. Because I pressed in to him and his strength, he was able to teach me things that I wouldn't have been able to learn apart from suffering. Things that are going to be with me and in me to help me be a comfort and a helper to someone else.

2 Corinthians 1:3-4 says, Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God.

I also love The Living Bible's version of these scriptures. What a wonderful God we have—he is the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the source of every mercy, and the one who so wonderfully comforts and strengthens us in our hardships and trials. And why does he do this? So that when others are troubled, needing our sympathy and encouragement, we can pass on to them this same help and comfort God has given us.

That is what I pray is happening through my writing to you each day. I pray I am able to encourage someone who is going through a tough time and needs some hope, or a fresh perspective on their circumstance. I pray that these words have brought comfort to you. God allows us to suffer for reasons that may never be known to us. But, when you read those scriptures above, you can see that he has a purpose and a plan to use our troubles for good. 

The most important thing to remember is that whatever you're going through, it's not all about you. He wants you to learn from it so you can help someone else. He wants you to be better on the other side of your trial, not bitter. In order to do that, you must be willing to trust him completely and let Him be your comfort and strength. Apart from him, we will crumble under the weight of our troubles. So don't crumble, just be humble. Let him bring you out of the pit. Don't try to claw your way out on your own. Believe me, I've done it both ways. Staying in the pit, at rock bottom, just that little bit longer while you're waiting on him and trusting him is much better than trying to find your own way out of the pit as fast as you can. You'll only end up bruised and battered and right back at the bottom.

I will leave you with Psalm 40:1-3. 
  
I waited patiently for the Lord;
    he turned to me and heard my cry.
² He lifted me out of the slimy pit,
    out of the mud and mire;
he set my feet on a rock
    and gave me a firm place to stand.
³ He put a new song in my mouth,
    a hymn of praise to our God.
Many will see and fear the Lord
    and put their trust in him. 

Good night, dear reader. Sing a song of praise to God as you go to sleep tonight, and rest well. Until tomorrow then...

Love,

Tracie