When I heard about this big writing contest opening up this month, I practically tripped over myself to enter. I have a manuscript that fits all the qualifications. It's not perfect. It's not the most original idea. But it's good, solid writing. I know it is. And yet, now that I'm only days away from the opening of the contest, the thought of entering it turns my stomach into big, squeamish knots, and a little voice whispers that my writing's not any good, that I'm not any good, and I shouldn't waste my time.
It doesn't just happen with my writing. Satan plants his little lies in my head about everything. He tells me that I'm a bad mother, a lousy wife, a slob, a slacker, a sissy ninny pants, and I believe him. Sometimes without question.
Why do I do that?
I know that Satan is a liar. I know that he was cast out of heaven for rebellion, and that his one and only desire is to make every single one of us as utterly miserable as he is. On the other hand, I know that Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ love me, that Their sweet, gentle Spirit guides me to believe in myself, to think the best of others, to drink deeply of the beauty of life.
But for some reason, it's much easier to believe in Satan's lies than it is to believe in the Spirit's truth.
I don't know why this is. I guess if I did, I wouldn't struggle with it so much.
But I know this much: whenever Satan's discouragement drags me down, help is only a prayer away. When I turn to the Lord, He fills me with sweet reminders of who I am and what I can do. While Satan's power is real, the Lord is more powerful. Light always chases away darkness.
With the Lord's help, I am reminded that I can write and that I should seek opportunities to learn and stretch and become a better writer. Even if, as Satan tells me, my writing isn't any good, what will it hurt to at least enter the contest? It beats sitting in the corner and moaning that my writing will never amount to anything. And it certainly won't kill me.
Although it will make me very, very queasy.
The moral of the story is this: Satan is a liar. Don't let his little lies keep you from reaching for your dreams.
My stomach still in knots,
The Brown-Eyed Girl
1 comment:
I think Satan is especially adept at deceiving writers--we're already suspicious and jealous of each other's abilities, so it is so easy to doubt our own!
Good Luck!
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