Well, it's been slow going this last week. I have to keep my focus rigidly on the Lord, and the fact that He has chosen me and not rejected me and will help me and has guided me all along the way and has never, ever failed to come through in His time and for His purpose. Otherwise I will fall into panic and despair.
It's not that I don't think there isn't a solution to the problems I'm facing with these chapters; it's that I'm not sure the solution will become apparent in time. Of course, since God is in my picture, then there is no reason why it wouldn't become apparent in time and hence the reason for not contemplating the problem but concentrating instead upon the solution: that my Father is all He has said He is and is completely worthy of my trust.
He has also given me encouragement, bringing to mind Ps 112:4 -- “Light rises in the darkness for the upright..." which reminds me that sometimes His guidance comes slowly, gradually, bit by bit.
That led to the recollection of a John Gardner quote I believe I've blogged before about:
"All that matters is that, going over and over the sketch as if one had all eternity for finishing one’s story, one improves now this sentence, now that, noticing what changes the new sentences urge, and in the process one gets the characters and their behavior clearer in one’s head, gradually discovering the deeper implications of the characters’ problems and hopes..."
Very very slowly I'm watching the sequence I've been working on begin to change. Slowly, it is getting better. This morning I thought it was hopeless, but tonight I think that chapter 5 is just about there. And I've already made some small changes to 7 and thought about 9. So they are begining to change, too.
And then, just at the end of the day I checked in at Charis Connection where Athol Dickson has posted a collection of quotes on this very thing: "Writing Well--Writing Slow(ly)"
Thus I press on, continuing to trust, being content with what is measured out for each day, and staying OUT of the future.
Karen
