Once upon a time, there was a writer with a Great Idea. That Great Idea was so big, she worked and worked to develop it. She did market research, built a proposal and invested in her Great Big Idea by taking it to several writing retreats. She told people about it, even crafting her bio to announce the forthcoming Great Idea project. Friends encouraged her and celebrated her bravado. Many shared stories to help the Great Idea move along. The future looked bright for the Great Big Idea.
However, the further the writer plugged away at Big Idea, the harder it got. She got discouraged. She got overwhelmed. And Big Idea languished. The writer stopped pursuing the Great Big Idea.
Consider this story:
“Again, it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted his wealth to them. To one he gave five bags of gold, to another two bags, and to another one bag, each according to his ability. Then he went on his journey. The man who had received five bags of gold went at once and put his money to work and gained five bags more. So also, the one with two bags of gold gained two more. But the man who had received one bag went off, dug a hole in the ground and hid his master’s money.” Matthew 25:14-18 NIV (Read the full story in Matthew 25:14-30)
Exercise:
Thoughts to ponder—feel free to comment below.
- How is the writer like the first two servants in the passage?
- How is the writer like the man who hid his master’s money?
- Can you relate to our writer? Why or why not?
- What should a writer do to get motivated again?
- How would you help another who is stuck?
- How do you reevaluate the writing projects you pursue?
- If knowledge is the writer’s currency, how does one expand its reach?
My NIV Footnotes for Matthew 25:14-30 says…
What we have is like a trust fund from God. The wise stewardship of that trust fund will be measured by faithfulness, not success.
If you redefined your standard of success to reflect your faithfulness to the task, what would that look like for your WIP?
Reflect on Mark 13:34-36, then gather up your Great Big Idea and give it a boost!
What will you do with that which you’ve been entrusted?
Over 140 of Sally Ferguson’s devotionals have been published in Pathways to God (Warner Press). She’s also written for Light From The Word, Chautauqua Mirror, Just Between Us, Adult Span Curriculum, Thriving Family, Upgrade with Dawn and ezinearticles.com. Prose Contest Winner at 2017 Greater Philly Christian Writers Conference.
Sally loves organizing retreats and seeing relationships blossom in time away from the daily routine. Her ebook, How to Plan a Women’s Retreat is available on Amazon.
Sally Ferguson lives in the beautiful countryside of Jamestown, NY with her husband and her dad.
Visit Sally’s blog at sallyferguson.net
We love helping your growing in your writing career.
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