I have
always loved to write.
I scribbled
stuff here and there when I was a teenager. I wrote scientific reports,
speeches and presentations as a professional. I wrote notes of events happening
in my life. I kept a journal. My friends encouraged me to write my story into a
book. I started without a clear direction of how to present it.
Turning
Point
In all of
these, I did not see writing as a gift.
Until two years ago, in response to my desperate cry, God opened my eyes
to see the gift He blessed me with and revealed to me how to use it creatively
for His glory. I wrote about this in Sitting On a Gold Mine. Click to read.
That was
when I became a full-time writer and I took definite steps to hone my craft. I
started to write articles, essays, short stories and fiction novels to convey
the truth of God's word—to enrich lives and inspire hope.
After three
months of writing, in June 2011, I began to share a weekly Enriching
Lives. Inspiring Hope. Newsletter by email with friends and family members. And in
November of the same year, it evolved into this blog.
A couple of
friends drew my attention to the chain of reaction which is taking the message
to the uttermost parts of the world. Another writer led an appreciation of
creative writing as a gift from God. I sat back and reflected on my small
beginning. I marveled at God's faithfulness to do exceedingly more abundantly
that I could ever ask, think or imagine.
My wildest
imagination paled at God's ability to do limitless possibilities.
Home-bound,
I write from the corner of my broken glass-styled dining table top, and right where I am,
from my little corner, God is doing amazing things with the gift He blessed me
with, in such a way that not even I could share in His glory
In that
corner, I spent many hours writing, researching and studying. In between, I
glance out through the window into the sky with a twiggy dry tree standing in
my line of vision. I watched this tree changed with the changing seasons, yet
reflecting God's unchanging faithfulness in keeping me through my seasons.
It can be
lonely alone at this little corner but it gives me utmost joy to know what God
is doing with message He gives me the grace to write from here.
In your
little way, in the little corner where you are, God can boast about you when
you give back to Him to use for His own glory and honor what He has given to
you. You can make a difference of eternal value right where you are.
Something
in Your Hands
There is
something in your hands that you can give to the world around you which will
make the message of the cross come alive in their lives. You always have
something to give. God has not left you empty handed.
I once read
the story of a woman in a Chicken Soup Stories for the Soul©.
Unemployed, she was filled with self-pity, despite being jobless she searched
for ways to give. Feeling worthless because she thought she had nothing to
give, she glanced out of her window at her garden and found flowers blooming.
She ran into the garden, picked, arranged and shared them with her neighbors
One of them turned out to be a desperate woman, with an alcoholic husband, a
diabetic mother and two children she could hardly support. The flower delivery
evolved into praying together for each other, until despair gave way to hope,
until she found a job and the alcoholic husband quit drinking.
The boy
with the five loads of bread and 2 pieces of fish was willing to share what he
had. God multiplied it exponentially, it fed 5000 men, women and children not
counted and there were leftovers (Luke 9:13-17). Talk about superabundant
multiplication.
The widow
at Zarephath gave all she had left - a handful of flour and a little oil to
make bread for Elijah, and her jug of oil never failed until God gave rains back to
the land (1Kings 17: 11-16).
What these witnesses and many others like them did, still stand as a memorial and a testimony today, encouraging us that we always have something in our hands to give, which
God can multiply beyond our wildest imagination, and with rippling effect.
Who would
have thought the gift of a bunch of flowers would have such a rippling effect? There
is always something in your hands to give - your skills, talents, gifts, time,
money, to name a few, and you can be creative with it.
Something
You Can Do
There is
something you can do right now, right where you are, which can impact lives for
eternal significance, not by the magnitude of what you are doing but by the
intensity of love, commitment and passion underlying it. There is something you
can contribute that will advance the gospel of salvation.
Do the good
you know to do. Remember, it is sin to know what you ought to do and then not
do it. Whoever knows to do good and does not do it, to him it is sin (James
4:17). Cotton Mather noted "that the ability to do good in any case imposes
an obligation to do it."
You can
deliberately seek opportunities to do good to people around you if you pay
attention to them and to their needs.
It may be
the way you respond in time of great adversity and affliction that will speak
volumes about your relationship with God, and show Him as the source of your
hope and confidence. When you patiently endure persecution, you show forth a
God-given inner strength and peace that many will long and ask for.
Be
Persistent, Consistent and Diligent
We must be
faithful and diligent to identify and passionately pursue the assignment God
has for us. For most of us, the impact of our assignment may not be visible or
quantifiable now, and it need not be.
My husband
shared the story of someone who sowed some seeds in her garden, nurtured,
watered and tended the plant. It grew over her fence but appeared not to be
blossoming. All she seem to see was the green plant but she kept at it until
her neighbor exclaimed at the beauty of the plant—it was blooming on the other
side of the fence.
God is able
to make the seed you sow into people's lives to blossom in a way you could
never have imagine. Don’t give up even when you don’t see results.
A Gift
And A Blessing
Creative
writing is both a gift and a blessing to me. I am amazed at the way God is
using this gift to open doors to me and to bless me. It does even much more:
- It holds me accountable —I am
compelled to practice what I preach.
- I am motivated to stay
connected to the source of power and inspiration. I frequently have to
ask the Holy Spirit for inspiration when I share a message.
- Often, I go back to read again previous posts and I receive encouragement when most needed. I get a fresh revelation and insight at that moment that it is sometimes difficult to believe that I wrote the piece.
Everyone
has a calling and a God-given assignment. It may be to your family, community
or to the nations. Whatever your assignment may be—right where you are, in the
workplace, marketplace, school, via internet or social media—you can impact the
world.
What
perfect example we have in Jesus. There is no greater love than to lay down
one's life for one's friend. But while we were yet sinners, Jesus came and died
for us. In the short time Jesus spent walking here on earth, He left an
indelible mark on the lives of everyone who came in contact with Him!
Let this Easter
be reminder of the precious gift of life Jesus died to purchase for us, let us
be encouraged to reach out with this message of love from where we are. I pray
that this will be a special time of celebrating God's miracle of life and
amazing love for you and your loved ones. Happy Easter.
