The Ugly Duckling of a Writer

"We find all sorts of ways to take away [distract] from the gift God gave us," Patsy Clairmont stated in her talk at Women of Faith in 2007. My women's group recently watched these dvds, and I thought how timely her message was for my post today.

Before I heard Patsy speak, I was going to title this post, "Distractions: The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly". The good being our other gifts from God: our family, our ministries, etc. Sometimes, when these distract us from our writing, it's a needed time to step away. For the bad distractions, I wanted to mention social media. Cringe. Yes, don't hate me, but sometimes social media (Facebook, blogs, pinterest...etc.) is a bad distraction. While it isn't "bad" in itself, when you've carved out a time to write then click over to surf your newsfeed, the distraction will be detrimental to your writing.
I wanted to finish my original post with the "ugly"--what is inside of us that distracts us from our writing: our insecurities, our laziness, our striving to push along the process to publication.


from www.christianphotos.net

Well, God is amazingly faithful in speaking to me about what NEEDS to be said, and when I heard Patsy Clairmont speak, I realized that there was a lot more to be said about the "ugly" than what I first intended. A whole post-ful.

"It's not who you are, but what you're going to become." -Patsy Clairmont

Do you ever sit at your computer and have an internal battle against the distracting whispers of "I'm not good enough," and "what was I thinking"? Perhaps you're not a writer after all? Perhaps you are an ugly duckling, trying to be a swan? This is a deeply rooted distraction from our writing, and can send us into a spiraling chasm of fear and stagnation.

Patsy so poignantly said the above quote when referring to an example in the Old Testament. When the angel came to Gideon in Judges, the angel called Gideon, "a mighty man of power," Gideon was distracted from this amazing visitor by his own insecurity, declaring that he is no man of power because he's from the weakest clan. God is bigger though. God called him to a higher calling. He knew Gideon would be powerful, and if Gideon wasn't distracted by his insecurities and leaned on his faith in God, then he wouldn't need to be convinced by the angel in the first place.

God is El Roi, the God who sees. He sees your insecurities and disabilities, but He also is the giver of your gift to write, and He knows His higher purpose for bestowing that gift upon you.

from www.christianphotos.net

What is so beautiful about this, is that God sees the "swan" that will come from the ugly duckling. A duckling is still learning to swim, to fish, to make it in the great big pond. But if the duckling gets distracted by his mistakes and struggles, then he can't grow to be a self-sufficient duck. What would his Father think if he continued to ignore his purpose, and focused only on the growing pains along the way? And imagine his surprise, when His Heavenly Father promised him more than life as a duck, but the beauty of a glorious swan? God has so much more in store for us than we could ever imagine! Power to a weak man like Gideon, life-changing words to a growing writer like YOU!

When we are distracted from our gift because of our own insecurity, then we are telling God that our Flesh is greater than our Spirit. We are leaning into a lie, not a promise. Ultimately, our ugly distraction becomes a broken trust in God's ability to use us through our writing.

God has great plans for us, and if we allow Him to work through us by weeding out our internal distractions and standing firm in our calling to write, then His promise to bring about His glory through our gift, will begin to sprout copious amounts of fruit! Without that internal distraction, imagine how efficiently you will grow as a writer.
 Don't let your "ugly duckling" syndrome stop you from venturing onward into the waters of His glory. Push aside the distraction.

This type of distraction is disobedience.

Might God whisper, "Obey while I'm fixing you."** Give your gift your full attention, and God will prune away those tawny feathers and promise you the beauty of a glorious swan.

**This quote is from Patsy Clairmont's talk. She is so wise! :)

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Angie Dicken first began writing fiction as a creative outlet during the monotonous days of diapers and temper tantrums. She is passionate to impress God's love on women regardless of their background or belief. This desire serves as a catalyst for Angie's fiction, which weaves salvation and grace themes across historical cultures and social boundaries. Angie is an ACFW member and is represented by Tamela Hancock Murray of the Steve Laube Agency.