by Bettie Boswell
Photo by Huper by Joshua Earle on Unsplash

Last week love was in the air. Valentine candy and dinners were shared. For some, it may have been a week of loneliness, filling their lives with sadness. Writing can sometimes be a love hate relationship. A contract may or may not be granted. An editor may love or slay our darling words, affecting the focus of a work. The roller coaster of writing words you love or hate can be true for any writer, even award-winning authors like the poet, Robert Frost.

As a young man, Frost wrote a short collection of love poems. He self-published two copies and took one of them to his sweetheart, Elinor White. He hoped to convince her to leave college and marry immediately. She wanted to graduate from college first. When she refused to see him, he tore his copy of the poems into pieces and went into a dismal slump, literally.

He left town and headed for the Dismal Swamp near coastal Virginia and North Carolina.  Her rejection made him walk deep into the wilderness, seeking an end to his life through poisonous snakes or other natural dangers. At his lowest moment, he saw the light…the light at one the locks along the canal running through the marshes. That light awakened him to the thought that his life was valuable and he would have to patiently wait for the right time for love. He rode a canal boat down to Elizabeth City, North Carolina, and worked his way back home doing manual labor to pay his passage. He did eventually marry his Elinor, after she graduated.

As a writer, keep working on your manuscripts. Know that you will both love and hate your works. Be willing to endure.  Accept change, grow, work hard, and learn. Understand that your plan may not be the Lord’s or your editor’s plan. Know that you may have to wait years for the manuscript that you love to come together at the right time. Find beautiful words for all situations, good and bad. Most importantly, let the Lord’s light be your guide to finding your way in life and in writing. 2 Corinthians 4:6a reveals more about following God’s light:

“For God commanded the light to shine out of darkness.”

Let your light shine in all you do and write.

P.S. I recently had the opportunity to walk along the trail next to the Dismal Swamp canal. The waterway has been around since the days of George Washington, who was one of the original canal investors. The swamp served as a refuge for people fleeing slavery. Few masters were willing to expose themselves to the natural predators. The environment also provided large pines for lumber used to build homes along the east coast. I found it to be filled with the beauty of God’s hand, a great place for the inspiration of a poem or the setting for a story. Enjoy the enclosed pictures of God’s creation.

Have a light filled day!

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