Working Through the Pain

In recent months, several author/friends of mine have struggled to meet book deadlines in the face of adverse circumstances. Health issues, marriage or family crises, severe financial stresses--such traumas threatened to sabotage their quest for writing success. I've watched in amazement as they've forced themselves to focus on the writing task at hand, even though their world is crumbling around them. They demonstrated true professionalism by their sheer ability to do the work (and churn out quality product) whether they felt inspired to write or not.

Well, this past week opened an unwelcome crisis chapter in our family's history. I'm not at liberty to share the details right now, but my mother-heart has been broken and I can focus on little else. Though I am late on a deadline for an editing project, the last thing I feel like doing is focusing on work. If I could give in to my instincts right now, I'd still be in bed, curled in a fetal position. Instead, I resisted the urge to ignore the 5 a.m. alarm. I got up and dressed and drove through the snow to picturesque Uhrichsville. And here I sit, determined to deliver on my promises to finish this job.

Dear friends, even in the face of heartbreak and crisis, you inspire me to perservere. Those who have gone before me now urge me forward, prod me to follow their example and complete the task, regardless of my "want-tos."

For those of you struggling to be faithful to your calling in the face of adverse circumstances, let me encourage you. . .you do not labor in a vacuum; your commitment to the task is noted and esteemed. Thank you for being an example to ME!

Author Diann Hunt's blog on FaithChick (http://www.girlswriteout.blogspot.com/) this weekend spoke volumes to me. I'm including it below to save you the trouble of tracking it down.

My mother-in-law is dying. When we went to visit her one day, despair crept over me in a big way. I started wondering how I could write happy little stories about women in middle age when life is so hard. Maybe it was wrong for me to be laughing about life when some folks' lives are so hard. I talked to my husband all the way home about it (we live two hours from his mom). He tried to encourage me. Still, I struggled with the whole idea of it. We prayed together.

Once we got home and settled in, I sat down in front of my computer, clicked on to my email, and there it was. The letter from the reader who had just read my last two books. She proceeded to tell me how those books got her through the hard days of chemotherapy, and she thanked me for bringing joy and laughter into her difficult world. I sat there and cried. For her. For what she was suffering. And also for my lack of faith to believe that God can use a willing heart, no matter the gift.

So even though sometimes you can’t see how God is working through you, keep trusting, stay obedient, and just do the work. He’ll take care of the rest.

--Diann Hunt (www.diannhunt.com)