It’s a good question to ask ourselves.
Last week I read a blog post by Pastor Darian Duckworth. She writes a weekly blog that my church mama from my last church, introduced me to. Isn’t it funny how she sent me one article that she thought I would enjoy and I ended up subscribing because it spoke to me so deeply?
You just never know when you toss that pebble in, how far out the ripples will go. Last week, her post was titled, “Why I Do What I Do.” She ended it by asking the question, “Why do you do what you do?” I’ve included a link here if you would like to read it. http://www.darianduckworth.com/musings
I thought about her post all week and asked myself that question. I suppose I’ve always wanted to write. As a kid, I had dreams of moving to California and being a famous author. Then I went to college and found that everybody wanted to be a writer. I put that dream on the back burner and moved on to other more realistic pursuits.
Every now and then, I would be so inspired that I would write something down and file it away somewhere, but I rarely gave writing much thought. Many years passed. My faith grew and I thought I might like to start a blog. I prayed about it for a while and the day I wanted to start, my computer crashed; I mean black screen, crashed.
“Okay, God.” I said. “I get it. Not now.”
More time passed and I felt lead to lead a Bible study of some kind, for Lent. I pitched doing an online study to the ladies in my Sunday school class and my mom. It was a closed group. Only the people who were on the list, could read it. We covered the book of Acts.
I learned so much from the study, from reading, writing, and from the ladies who participated. I learned that many times when I sat at the keyboard, the words that I typed, didn’t come from my brain. They were Holy Spirit inspired. It was a truly awe-inspiring and life changing experience for me.
When the study was finished, I was hooked. I read a few books about blogging and Graceful Gaines was born. My premise was a Vacation Bible School principle. “Watch for God in the world around you and share it with others.”
My hope and prayer each day as I write, is that someone who reads my words will be inspired to do the same. God shows me grace regularly as I attempt to share the light of Christ. Sometimes it’s a nudge to take a picture or to get outside and take a walk. Sometimes, I find myself sitting at the keyboard with a blank mind, after a particularly stressful day and I can think of nothing to share; the words I write on those days tend to inspire the most people and I get the most comments and shares. Again, they aren’t coming from me, alone.
Writing for me, is a constant reminder that. “For I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength.” Philippians 4:13
I write to grow closer to Jesus and I pray that by doing so, I can help others draw closer too.
To answer Pastor Darian’s question, that’s why I do what I do.
Now, I’ll ask you; “Why do you do what you do?”
Have an awesome day!
Wendy 🙂