As writers, one admonition we continuously hear is: develop a thick skin. It’s a tough business, one usually filled with more put downs than adoration so it makes sense to construct that thick layer of skin.
I actually thought my skin was pretty tough until …
Those final round Genesis critiques came back.
Whoa. Can you say eye-opening?
Now, to be honest, they weren’t all bad. Actually, they were all over the place with one directly contradicting the other, leaving me scratching my head.
And then those doubts, those nasty lies started creeping in. See, you’re not that good. You’re not even close to ready! After all, these are editors not just readers. They were probably wondering how you ever made it to the final round!
And then another voice broke through that negative maelstrom, one that asked, “Who, pray tell, are you listening to?”
Well, uh, I’m listening to that little voice on my left shoulder–
“You just tell that voice to skedaddle.”
But–
“Ahem.”
Please go way? my teeny voice eeked.
“I can’t hear you.”
<Clearing throat>Liar, go away!
“There, that’s better. Now, listen to Me.”
And God’s voice poured from Psalm 139 as He reminded me Who I’m writing for and why I’m writing.
I asked what I needed to learn from this experience, and He replied that my skin is still a mite transparent, it needs to have a few more calluses. Part of me is a skosh frightened about what that portends. 😉
But, no matter where my writing goes, and no matter how much it gets knocked down, God will be walking right beside me kicking that doubt-building imp off my shoulder. I thank God for these callus-building opportunities!