by Nancy Kay Grace
Have you ever watched children create something with play dough? They squeeze and roll the clay in their hands, pressing it onto the table or forming a shape. Maybe it will become a snake or ball. When finished, there’s a good possibility the creation will be smashed into a lump, as it was in the beginning.
A potter purposely shapes the clay into the intended vessel of a vase, bowl, or mug. She works at it until it is finished, giving careful attention to details during the multi-step process.
Writing can be like creating with Play-Doh or shaping clay. At the beginning, the writer has an idea for a story or article that needs to be worked and re-worked. It will be reshaped again and again. It is reassuring to know that during the process, the Lord guides and reshapes the writer just as He shapes the book.
Writing is a means to share God’s grace and encouragement with others. When I begin a devotion or blog post, I ask the Lord to guide me to a topic that will help someone in the struggles of every day living. Many times the Lord brings a Scripture passage to mind that encourages my heart as I put words on the screen. The words are shaped and edited as the Lord guides. I pray for the readers to receive the same encouragement and blessing.
While composing The Grace Impact, I learned much about God’s grace and development as a writer. The Lord revealed His plan for the book through the multi-step process and I saw God’s sufficient grace at each point along the way. Sometimes I was like the child with play dough; other times I was like the potter. Even when I felt discouraged, the Lord taught me to trust Him as the Master Potter. I had to believe that God would bring the project to completion knowing His timing is best. I learned to persevere as a “work in progress” in the Potter’s Hand.
The promise of Philippians 1:6 (NIV) encouraged me to be faithful to the call of God in writing.
“being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.”
God was faithful to bring the book project to culmination.
Whether you see yourself as a beginner or skilled craftsman, trust yourself and your writing to the Potter’s hand.
MORE ABOUT NANCY KAY GRACE
NANCY KAY GRACE is captivated by God’s grace and loves to share about embracing it in everyday life. She has contributed stories to Chicken Soup for the Soul: Celebrating Brothers and Sisters, Chicken Soup for the Father and Son Soul, The One Year Life Verse Devotional, Refined By Fire: Defining Moments of Phenomenal Women and magazine articles in Just Between Us. Her first book, The Grace Impact was released by CrossRiver in 2015. Nancy is married to her best friend, Rick, who is a senior pastor in northwest Arkansas. They have served the Lord for nearly forty years, seeing His grace at work at many countries. Now they enjoy the stage of life with two married children and an increasing number of grandchildren.
