Writing for me is a delicate balance of knowing not only what to write, but also when to write. Ideas are constantly swirling inside my head. I see everything in the world as a story idea.
However, I am also all over the place. I see stories in forms of children’s books, short story ideas, horror stories, works of poetry, then, of course, devotionals. It’s a world of creative chaos inside my head. If the words don’t come out onto paper or on the screen then it’s overwhelming to me.
Writing isn’t simple, though. It isn’t enough just to “get them out of my head.” There must be purpose in what I write and I must be led. Everything I write starts with prayer. To jump in without being led by the Spirit would have me diving head first into the unknown.
Delicate balance begins with the understanding that there are seasons for writing. There are not “droughts,” just season where the Spirit takes hold and leads with a wild passion and other seasons where the soul is quiet, stirring inside for just the write moment to fill the pages.
I used to get upset by this – thinking I should be writing everyday and beating myself up if I didn’t. Again, that’s not where I find balance. I find it where the Spirit leads and where I trust the words to come at exactly the right time for a specific purpose or person to read.
Yes, I have dreams of writing, of publishing, but I am called to trust in the process and in who leads the process.
My prayer for all of us writers is that we can let go and let the Spirit lead our words and to be able to find the peace that comes from living in the delicate balance.
I have to live in the in-between, in the delicate balance.
Raelyn Pracht 