Lessons from Bart

For years, I taught full-time, but it never quite satisfied my longing to create—to put into practice what I was teaching others. “Someday, I’ll quit teaching and pursue my dreams of becoming a writer,” I kept telling myself. And finally, I did just that.

“Oh, you’ve retired from teaching, and you’re taking it easy now!” seemed to be the implied if not the stated opinion of everyone who felt free to comment on my life choices.

Never Give Up

The truth is, I have been tempted to live up—or down—to those expectations. Writers face rejection constantly. We are misunderstood, or we don’t even get a hearing in the first place. “Why do I put myself through this?” I ask on a bad day when another “Dear Susan” rejection email arrives.

During one of those why-don’t-I-just-give-up mornings, I read the story of blind Bartimaeus. Bart had been waiting who knows how long for a chance to be healed. When he called out for Jesus, many told him to be quiet, “but he shouted all the more!” (Mark 10:48 NIV). The crowd thought Bart was wasting his time, but Jesus had a plan for him. He heard him, called him, and healed him.

When publishers reject my writing, friends expect me to kick back and relax, and voices in my head clamor, telling me to give up, I need to remember Jesus has called me. And perhaps, in time, he will heal me of the need for acceptance from anyone other than him.

Get Moving

To counteract discouragement, we can take concrete steps to improve our writing. Earlier this year, I joined a critique group which requires me to submit monthly. After a few months of writing with my group, an award-winning website gave me a column to write! This made me feel like a real writer—as opposed to the fake writer I was before—but then I got stuck. Certain I was delusional to think a monthly column would be a breeze, I panicked. I listened to the accuser in my head ask these questions: “What ever made you think you’re a writer, capable of working with a deadline? Why would you want to write a column every month? How will you come up with new ideas?”

To silence the voice in my head, I took a deep breath and went back to Bart. He not only kept calling out to Jesus but also bounced to his feet when Jesus called. He got moving, taking concrete steps toward his goal. We can do that too.

Hog-tie yourself to your writing chair—or not—but sit in your writing space and type, even if it reeks, just to get the thoughts flowing. Take a few minutes to read some great writing and ask yourself why you love it. Take a walk outdoors. Find practices that work for you and make a list for the times you are panicked. Move in a positive direction like Bart did.

Open Our Eyes

Jesus opened the eyes of Bartimaeus, both physically and spiritually. When we need inspiration, we can venture out into nature and ask God to open our eyes. I walk and pray in the fresh morning air, and my mind opens up to new ideas and the guidance of the Spirit. Sometimes I sit watching the birds, remembering that Jesus said not to worry for God takes care of the birds, and we are so much more precious to him than they.

The world may seem to be falling apart, but in nature we see tremendous beauty all around us, whispering that God is real, loving, and attentive to our needs. When the descending sunlight filters through the delicate leaves, backlit with dazzling golds and corals, we need to be still and open our eyes. In the changing colors of sunsets and sunrises, we experience the creativity of God, his gifts to us, abundant and new every morning and evening. G. K. Chestertonsaid, “Most probably we are in Eden still. It is only our eyes that have changed” (2011, 2). 

If we allow God to open our eyes, the writing will flow from his Spirit, his Breath, breathed in by us, his children.                           

Reference

Chesterton, G. K. 2011. In In Defense of Sanity, 2. San Francisco, CA: Ignatius Press.

In 1996, Susan E. Brooks moved to Mozambique, Africa, with her family where she taught art and English at an international high school and started journaling about her adventures. Twenty-six of the stories of struggles and victories in Mozambique are now published on her blog in a series entitled “Mozambican Odyssey.” She has since lived in Portugal, Ghana, and Cyprus, as well as in her home state of Kentucky, USA.

Meanwhile, nine grandchildren have come along, and she is inspired to write and illustrate a children’s book for each of them. Susan has self-published four children’s books so far.