“The process will be long and in parts very painful; but that is what we are in for. Nothing less.”
— C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity
I wonder why it’s so difficult to create. I think up a theme, and come up blank. I grasp my pen, but no words flow out. I want my work completed instantly. If not, with as little effort as possible. Alas, for me, it doesn’t work out like that. Or perhaps it’s a blessing in fact by grand design?
Like any craft, writing involves process. You think up an idea, set pen to paper, fingers to keys, and words fill the page one letter at a time. Sometimes a sentence is worked fifteen ways before you are satisfied. Other times you’re assailed by writers block. You just can’t put anything worthwhile down. It’s painful. You feel inadequate.
The process of creating for us mere mortals is never easy. But if it was, the things we create wouldn’t be as meaningful. Thankfully, the old adage still rings true: practice makes perfect. Our “writing muscles” are uncannily like other muscles of our body — the more we work them the better and stronger they get.
Although what we create can become better, rarely is it ever complete. This is why people always say art is never finished. There’s always a way to make something different — even better, even much, much better.
This pursuit of perfection drives the indomitable human spirit to ever increasing excellence.
I want to blame the internet for making us addicts of instant gratification. How tall is the Eiffel Tower? Google it. Where to dine, what to eat? Hit the iPhone app. Where to meet up with friends? No panic, no fuzz, no time at all. Finger-tap your way to Foursquare, Twitter, or Facebook.
In a world of instant answers something critical is lost: the creative process/journey of discovery.
It’s like moving from infancy to adulthood at the swirl of a magical wand. Where’s the fun in that, including the difficult, painful, meaningful challenges of life? You don’t learn if you never fail. Our Creator understood this well, which is why we His little creations are works in progress.
Stop looking for easy answers, because there aren’t any. Rarely are there perfect solutions to some of life’s most challenging moments. Hence even the Lord Jesus encourages endurance to the end in His disciples. Take the journey of life with the confidence of the suppliant in Psalm 138: “The Lord will perfect that which concerns me” (verse 8). God will not, the psalmist goes on to conclude, “forsake the works of His own hands.” Be willing to stumble and open yourself up to the possibility that you might never perfect your craft, but that’s okay.
