For writers, fear can take hold when the words go on vacation. Fingers in position on the keyboard, but no flow. Handled wrong, it could lead to stress at the misconception of having nothing to say. Our gifts come from our Creator and they are not going to abandon us. We can use a bridge of love to cross over the fear and safely wait for our inspiration to return on its own time. This quote from John the Apostle is short and sweet, but it carries some serious weight.
“There is no fear in love, perfect love casts out fear” from 1 John 4:18.
Fear and love cannot be roommates. When we live with faith, love takes precedence and we see the good around us. Maybe your voice is growing and it has to change style and outgrow familiar footprints to become what it’s meant to be. It means you’re going to face the unknown. That includes stillness of the mind and the patience to let things happen as they’re meant to.
When I went a month without writing any blog posts, I felt a small nagging voice that whispered “Where is it? When is it coming? Are you worried you’ve run out of things to say?” You could hear the cracking of the screen door as it slammed on that voice while I walked away from it with my head up. My voice isn’t going to desert me; it has its own way of doing things and requires patience on my part. How do you handle the seasons of waiting when they come upon you?
Four weeks after my creative hiatus, the words come back. Relief and joy elbowed each other for room as I raced to put ideas down on paper. You too may struggle with currents that rise and fall, taking your sense of worth, identity, and creativity on a roller-coaster ride, but the currents are not the truth and they are only temporary. It all comes back to love. I had to sit and wait for the current to subside, ultimately trusting that my voice would return. It took me out of the driver’s seat. It defies our cultural logic. Self is no longer front and center. Letting go of perceived control frees you to move into new places you would never experience otherwise. If you return to love, you are known. That brings peace. It’s so simple. Your words, talent, calling-it will return from that vacation. Just wait for it on the other side of the bridge.
