Feel frustrated as a writer when your words don't get published? Don't worry. Keep writing. It's about the craft. You ARE a writer, even if it never gets on a page. Here are some words to motivate your work:

I’m always writing—
In my mind, at least.
Creating words,
One thought juxtaposed with another

Sometimes they're filled with rage
At injustices that pervade
The hurt, blatant lies
The degradation of lives created in the image of God

These words leave a bitter taste on my tongue.

Sometimes they're filled with tears
Probing inquiries with no answers
Why? What now?
Where do we go from here?

These words come out in cathartic spurts.

Sometimes they're filled with creativity
A need to put together phrases
As if my sanity depends upon it
An itch that needs to be scratched

These words blossom with potential.

Sometimes they're filled with compassion
Reaching out in text or card
Letting those around me know
They are seen; they are valued

These words create connection.

Writing doesn’t always happen
In published books that line the shelves
In 280 characters that all the world can see
In lyrics fit with melodies that stick inside your brain

Writing happens in the heart
Where jumbled thoughts sit entangled
Mixed with emotion, faith, and lived experience
Put together to make sense of it all

These words define my soul.

Photo by Aaron Burden on Unsplash

I give and give out words

But are these my best?

What if use them all now and then run out?

What if I give them away—

Never to find new ones again?

Can’t I keep a few?

Yet a thought was impressed upon my soul—

There will always be more words

More thoughts

More inspiration

There will always be more words

Besides, they are from the Lord

Not my own

He gives to me, if I seek his inspiration

Then I am to pass them along

Think of all the times I move too fast—

And miss the words that got away

They are not a gift to be squandered—

These words

There will always be more words

So

Give them out

They don’t cost—

But they can bring value

Give them out

They are a gift—

To be shared, not kept

Give them out

They were given to me in the first place—

Give them out

To those he asks me to give to

We have certain places we exist on this earth

Certain gifts

At certain times

With certain roles to fill

I was given words

Not to keep, to hold, to retain for my own worth

Not to build me up—

To give

To breathe life into others

To encourage, uplift, and adore

To press others onward

To remind them how precious they are

To help make them everything they are supposed to be

I give and give out words

Because they were given to me

There will always be more words

And always those who need to hear them

Sometimes there are no words.

Out of pain.

Out of fear.

Out of self-consciousness.

But sometimes it's out of awe.

I like those moments. Because a lot of my day is filled with words—words in my head, if not on my tongue. And I can go all day buzzing from one thought or conversation to the next. Yet all of these communications surrounding me are on the here-at-hand, the stuff of earth.

Therefore I like it when the stuff of earth draws my attention heavenward.

Because when I think on things above, the stuff of earth finds meaning.

When I think on things above, I find the strength to move ahead when the earth beneath my feet makes me weary.

When I think on things above, even the beauty here below glows with more hope.

A simple drive home tonight, windows down, radio off, gave me a chance to clear my mind of the day's commotion. And so I was better prepared to receive the beauty placed in my vision. And better prepared to allow it to draw my attention to an amazing Creator's artistry.

(*Photo taken from the car window. I pulled over to capture the moment.)