Three years ago my second book, which I had written as an act of obedience, was published. Since God called me to write it and clearly carried me through the writing of it, I thought He would make it commercially successful. He didn’t. In terms of sales, it was an utter failure. I was confused and hurt and angry: had I misheard? Had I wasted my time? What was going on?
Six months later I found myself at Laity Lodge. Early one morning, I got up and walked out to Sanctuary, an interactive sculpture on the grounds. Seating myself inside and looking up at the Texas sky, I asked God for clarity, for a vision: what was my writing for?
Immediately, an image came to mind. A plate filled with pieces of broken bread. I shoved the image aside and waited. Again, I saw in my mind’s eye a plate of broken bread. I shook my head, cast the image from my mind, and stared harder at the sky. No use. Broken bread again filled my thoughts. Well, that’s rich, I thought. A prosaic plate of passive bread crumbs. Thanks a lot, God. And I promptly forgot about this little vision-quest.
I shouldn’t have been so insulted. And I certainly shouldn’t have been surprised….
Friends, I am thrilled to say that I am now a contributing writer at The Cultivating Project, a beautiful blog dedicated to Christians in the arts, hosted by the lovely Lancia Smith. It is one of my very favorite places online—quiet, thoughtful, and beautiful, and I am honored to get to participate in it.
This is the first piece I’ve written for Lancia, and it would bless me (and her!) no end if you would take a moment to hop over, read the rest of the essay, and leave a short comment. Thank you so much! While you’re there, you might want to poke around—Lancia takes beautiful photographs, and her interviews with artists are rich and satisfying. I think you will find that The Cultivating Project blesses you, too.
