The Eye of the Storm

As a writer, I face many demands. Each day brings decisions to be made, deadlines to meet, creative thoughts to put down on paper, devotionals to be written with fresh insights. I'm in the middle of a major revision of my historical novel. There are query letters to write and I must find a home for the short story written and ready to submit. And that's just my writing life.

Sometimes I am sucked into situations too difficult for me to handle. Someone shares a problem and I slip into the controversy. A friend goes through a difficult time and I feel myself pulled into it. A new writing opportunity arises and I accept the challenge without considering what other projects must be put on hold.

One day the Lord gave me a mental image of a weather map showing the huge mass of a hurricane moving up the coastline. In the midst of the storm was the dark eye, that place of perfect calm. It was a good reminder--around me swirls the cares of the world, the problems of family members, the busy-ness of church, and the demands of my writing career. In the eye of the storm, I find perfect peace.

In the midst of turmoil, I hear the loving voice of Jesus, "Look beneath your feet." I look down and am surprised to see that I stand on a single task. Just one task among all the other things in my life. "Work on the task beneath your feet."

One task is easy. Manageable. Not overwhelming.

When I finish that task, it's as if the storm moves on, meandering up the coastline. When the eye of the storm is situated squarely over the place where I should be, I work on that issue. All the while, living in perfect peace though turmoil swirls around me in threatening currents.

Confusion saps me of creativity and makes me tired before I begin. Winds of controversy discourage me and make me doubt my ability to accomplish anything. Attacking one problem at a time makes all the difference. I put one word down on paper, then another. Easy. Especially if done in the eye of the storm, in the center of God's perfect peace.

"Lord, you have assigned me my portion and my cup; you have made my lot secure. The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; surely I have a delightful inheritance. I will praise the Lord, who counsels me; even at night my heart instructs me. I have set the Lord always before me. Because he is at my right hand, I will not be shaken." Psalm 16:7-9 (NIV)

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