Magic and Snow
I read the book Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert a while ago, when I was talking about writing a book, but not actually writing. In the book Gilbert says: “The work wants to be made, and it wants to be made through you.” Today, we had snow in Nebraska. Normally, snow in October would make me very grumpy because if I had my way, the season of fall would stay forever. But, the snow came, so I decided to re-listen to this audiobook while I cooked, cleaned and prepared for the week ahead.
Many of Gilbert’s magic lessons really spoke to me this time around, but one that really caught my attention was when she says, “Create whatever you want to create - and let it be stupendously imperfect, because it’s exceedingly likely that nobody will even notice. And that’s awesome.” The magic Gilbert encourages the reader to find is already inside them. It has to come out… not to make money, not to become famous, just because it has to come out.
I’m currently studying the book of Genesis with Bible Study Fellowship, and this week one of the questions asked: “What is God asking you to do at this time in your life? How are you responding?” I told my small group about the book God has placed on my heart. I laughed and said that I have had a tug on my heart since 2001 to write a book…. so I confessed that I’m responding VERY SLOWLY - but I’m finally responding! This week we were studying Noah, and the notes from the study said, “God chooses to accomplish His plans in ways that astound us.” I’m writing my 25th blog entry this month on October 25th! I am astounded at what I’m learning, and most of all, I’m having fun!
Toward the end of the book Big Magic, Gilbert says, “Sometimes I think that the difference between a tormented creative life and a tranquil creative life is nothing more than the difference between the word awful and the word interesting.” One thing is for sure…. God has blessed me with a very interesting and fun life…and what’s really interesting is I was able to find inspiration from snow in October today.