We all know people who don’t get excited about books. Their heart rates flatline at words and margins. Or maybe they do enjoy reading, but have no idea what blood, sweat, and tears go into crafting an opening sentence designed to grab that elusive commodity–an editor’s second glance.

Storytelling, it’s what we writers appreciate best. Discovering and plotting the story-world is a falling in love experience for every new writer. It’s safe to say that even multi-published authors obsess passionately over each new character they craft. What a powerful day job, and what we go through to get to do it!

Writer moms and dads can relate. There’s a particular pang that surfaces at regular intervals each day, always when the words are flowing like milk alongside fresh cookies. Somebody inevitably falls out a window, or screams as if they did, and creative flow is murdered then and there, about the time you realize those loud sirens are–gulp–pulling into your driveway.

Okay, maybe the pang is simply your child needing help with his homework, but the effect remains the same. Story-world shattering.

Because life happens.

And that life is as precious a gift as any writing ability our Creator may have bestowed on us. It’s an amazing thing to ponder. Our life, and the lives of those around us have been painstakingly developed by the Master Craftsman. Imagine what thought and careful creativity went into us, His creation. The science behind our DNA alone is mind-boggling.

Psalm 139:13-14 says, “You formed my inward parts; You wove me in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.”

And Psalm 139:16, “Your eyes have seen my unformed substance,  and in Your book were all written the days that were ordained for me when as yet there was not one of them.”

Others may not see anything special when they look our way, but God does. We are His hand-made creation, put here to make a difference on earth. Don’t you think He is watching us closely, wanting us to live up to our full potential? When you love what you do, it’s alive and thrilling and you hover over it in anticipation of what comes next.

I might see a pile of lumber in the yard and think it’s a mess that needs cleared away, while my husband sees a future deck and play area for the family. You might visit my home and wince at the pile of rocks behind our property. I see those rocks and envision outdoor fireplaces, rock ledges, stone patios and on and on.

My point is that sometimes our viewpoints in life get a bit jaded.  Burn-out occurs gradually. We need to rediscover our passion for the “life” God’s plotted out for us. We need to help our children discover their God-given light switch and be there to watch the brilliance unfold.

Sometimes you have to decide to engage. And it may at first seem like a sacrifice, but the joy is there…a few chapters into the book.

Good craftsmanship. We want it as writers, as parents, and we owe our pursuit of it to our Creator. But it doesn’t just happen. Children don’t automatically become God-fearing adults. We can’t feed ourselves a diet of “world” and not deal with the side-effects.

We can’t pour our heart out in a Word Document and expect it to be a bestseller with no polishing!

So the next time you’re required to push away from the computer, the job, the NBA Playoffs, the book in your head…remember that it’s the interruptions that make our lives “ours”.  We’ve been signed on this team and for good reason.

Ephesians 2:10, “We are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.”

Ponder on that. And while you’re at it, remember that Jesus sees in you a person worth dying for.  We’ll never be the men and women God created us to be until we grasp onto that incredible love.

All in the process of becoming His Masterpiece…

Even if most of the time I’m just an apprentice with high aspirations!