Looking for a place to feel inspired and challenged? Like to share a smile or a laugh? Interested in becoming more familiar with Canadian writers who have a Christian worldview? We are writers who live in different parts of Canada, see life from a variety of perspectives, and write in a number of genres. We share the goal of wanting to entertain and inspire you to be all you can be with God's help.
Saturday, April 10, 2010
Worried About Money? God Knows the Way Through -- Gibson
“When you choose your vocation,” I often told our children, “pick something you’d get up and do every day, whether or not you get paid!” I’ve lived that philosophy, writing and speaking far more for love than money for over two decades, writing full-time for the last dozen.
The climate for writers has always been “overcast, with sporadic showers.” Freelancing fees have increased little since the 1970’s. And unless your name is Rick Warren, Max Lucado, or JK Rowlings, among very few others, to be a profitable writer these days one must either be employed by a media outlet, an entrepreneur, an expert in social media marketing, or a panting, self-promoting, pain in the nether-regions.
I know some writers who manage all of the above.
But this particular author has never had the business sense to coax a living wage from writing. Altogether, my words have likely garnered only a few years of equivalent full-time wages. Every time I’ve tried to push past that, I’ve lost my love of the craft and my creativity.
Nevertheless, like most of my readers, my husband and I have a mortgage that needs regular feeding, a car that guzzles gas, and a table that looks best decorated with food. His vocation provided most of that.
But when the pirates of West Nile neurological disease invaded our little boat in the summer of 2007, one of the things they stole from my husband was his ability to put in regular hours at any kind of consistent job. Though he is able to do many remarkable things, his lack of stamina and energy have persisted—along with other, more severe, long-term effects of the disease.
God has not, however, released me from my commitment to write. Instead, he has provided for the Preacher and me. In almost three years (and long before) God has seen to it we have never lacked for anything. He’s done that through many means—disability insurance, speaking engagements, book and article sales, the amazing generosity of those who believe in our ministry of writing and speaking, and a previous (and very fine) job for me as a magazine editor for three fascinating seasons, a job that ended with the downturn of the economy.
We’ve had humbling moments. Hours. Days, days. Once, very recently, I (flapping about in worry like a windsock in the breeze) rushed out—without Divine permission—and took an entirely unsuitable job. I quit immediately after my first and only shift, disappointing many others who had hoped for a keeper.
A mistake is an opportunity to learn, they say. I learned again that simple trust is always the best option when faced with a fiery furnace, whether the furnace is stoked with fear or unpredictable circumstances. And that God always knows best.
Leave the writing life? Not yet. God keeps providing more life to write about!
Are you worried about finances? God knows the way through. Trust. Listen. Follow. And let him direct.
Kathleen Gibson
www.kathleengibson.ca
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Popular Posts
-
Write Canada is more than a professional networking conference. It’s a safe place where beginning and intermediate writers can learn ...
-
by Rev Ed Hird One of the best loved Christmas Carols is the 146-year-old carol: Good King Wenceslas. In 1853, John Mason Neale chose Wences...
-
Inspiration hardly strikes on an empty stomach. For this, and other reasons, writers must eat. And if you like minced beef (and you...
-
I know it's only the 27th of November, but judging from the abundant lights in my neighbourhood, the holiday programs on TV, the parades...
-
By Rev. Dr. Ed & Janice Hird We hear a lot about essential workers and essential services in these COVID-19 times. At 7 pm each ...
-
There are many things I fear. Having a flat tire on a freeway. Or worse, having a flat tire at night. The result of this fear is that I avoi...
-
As an author, I take great pains to choose the right name for all my characters. Even the animals in my stories get the same careful deliber...
-
What a gorgeous day for a round of golf amidst a beautiful setting! The course, while close to town and nestled between several roads, is...
-
By Rev. Dr. Ed & Janice Hird Corrie ten Boom once said: “I’ve never had the joy of bringing to birth a child, but I’ve often had th...
-
Love and chocolate—I can’t think of a better reason to declare February 14 as an official winter holiday. For the moment, I’ll skip over div...
3 comments:
Kathleen,
Interesting, poignant, and practical ... thanks!
Hmm. As my wife and I come within a couple of months of my retirement (she is not employed), and prepare to move out of a manse and into rented accomo, I find more resonance with this piece than I likely would have several years ago.
It resonates with me too, Kathleen, as one of my employers is 3 months behind in sending me my paycheque and my other source is looking rather shakey at the moment. But God does and will provide. Thanks for the reminder! :)
I'm just skimming through a few older blogs this morning and your title caught my attention. I hadn't even realized it was your post Kathleen.
I was praying yesterday as I pushed the lawn-mower around -- for wisdom financially. I have almost no income opportunities anymore. I think -- just maybe -- trusting God is the best advice I could have come across this morning.
Post a Comment