Finding the Answer

I was stuck, completely empty creatively, dried up. One of my summer goals of restructuring my blog (yes, this blog, the one that until recently included a new post about once a month when I reviewed a new book) wasn’t working out so well. I’d chosen a topic that I was passionate about—seeing God at work in everyday things—and was writing more often. But posts were still only going up every week at the most, or every two weeks if I left town. On top of that, the stories were already feeling stale. As usual, I gave into my tendency to feel like a failure as a writer. How could I expect to ever write another book if I couldn’t even keep up with a blog?

I tossed around a couple of ideas with a fellow author, only to see that I couldn’t make them work.

On Monday I prepared to meet with my writers group. I couldn’t decide what to bring to critique. Then it hit me: why not ask them to help me brainstorm ideas for my blog. Kaydie, our brainstorming queen (Hi Kaydie, you’re amazing), helped me come up with a plan for incorporating weekly themes. The next thing I knew I had new direction that I was really excited about. I’d found the answer!

So this week’s theme is Answers.

Answers that seem to never come.

Answers that we can’t find ourselves.

This time my answer came with the help of others. What a sweet reminder of how much we need each other. Writers need other writers. Christians need brothers and sisters in Christ. Moms need other moms. Because sometimes we get stuck and need help desperately.

I can’t help wondering if God occasionally allows the answer to our dilemma-of-the-day to get stuck in our brains until we call for reinforcements, just to keep us from getting too full of ourselves—too convinced that we can do this life ourselves.

Whether that’s true or not, I thank Him for prompting me to run to my writers group for help, and in the process leading me to the answer that I was looking for.