Something More to Do

2 Corinthians 3:18: “As the Spirit of the Lord works within us, we become more and more like him and reflect his glory even more”

I don’t know if you’re familiar with a writer named Annie Dillard. She is an accomplished, luminous writer who has crafted poetry, essays, prose, and literary criticism, as well as two novels and one memoir. She is particularly known for her books about the natural world and our relationship with it in a way that is almost spiritual, although I do not know specifically what her beliefs are.

Annie Dillard published her first book in 1974, but recently said she sat down to write one morning, and, as she said, “I didn’t know what came next.” She was, unfortunately, finished with writing. I know that those who have read her books over the years have to be disappointed.

As a writer, I can identify with what she experienced. Every day when I sit down, I think, do I know what comes next? Is today the day I don’t have anything else to say? Is this it?

I am blessed that, as of now, I have more than enough to write about. A witness to that are the over 1,000 short pieces and five novels, to say nothing of these devotionals, which number about 1400. But I know that one day, one way or another, I too won’t know what comes next, and that will be the end of writing for me.

But I am hopeful. In spite of the possibility of one day running out of ideas, I believe God made us with the impulse to create, to reach out to our world and to touch the lives there. We will press on regardless, aware that if we can’t minister or create in one way, God has put other ways in our paths. The Gospel is about growing in Christlikeness through praise, prayer and deeds of kindness, and those will last us during this life, and all the way through eternity. Praise God for creativity, for allowing us to persevere, and for the sacrifice of his son Jesus Christ, who has given us the gift of this life and the life to come. Amen.