The Shepherdess Speaks

Life is a Rough Draft

 

For it is God Himself whose power creates within you the desire to do His gracious will and also brings about the accomplishment of the desire. 

 Weymouth New Testament

Another one of those days -- rough from the get-go, nothing seemed to gel or work smoothly. A phone call, a problem left unsolved and the end of the week was melting into a huge puddle of poor endings.

I made a cup of ginger tea and sat down to relax. Glancing at the tea table, I noticed the hand-crafted journal that Alexandria had given me for mother’s day. On the cover were the words: Life is a Rough Draft.

 

Musing over the words, I understood the significance of this statement. Yes, life definitely was a rough draft; moments of time we hope are perfect and seamless the first time we encounter a new or different experience. 

As in actual writing, the first draft is rarely, if ever, perfect. In fact, it may take many drafts, hours of rewriting, rethinking the plot, clarifying the point, the outcome, and then the final polish.

Just this week, a book I was reading included the author’s plea/prayer for mercy from the editor and I had to laugh when the editor included the author’s prayer in the final product. It read as follows:

Almighty God, keep the pencil of the editor off these sacred words and let not the reader scorn to read them.

But…as God’s child, I have a “Perfect Editor” who corrects the errors and tells me to: write it again and this time…get it right. I need the editor’s pencil on my life’s work! He carefully goes over the lines and corrects my errors with love and mercy. I’m glad He doesn’t pencil me out or send me a rejection notice, but instead, He offers help and guidance for my rough draft, a positive critique of my efforts. I am improving my rough draft day by day and with my Editor’s help, I want my final manuscript to be the one perfect masterpiece to offer my Lord at the close of my days. 

Edit my life, O Lord, and help me to cut what is unnecessary, to beautify what is unlovely, to simplify and clarify what is too complex, and let me not shrink from the editor’s pen, but embrace the correction, knowing the final draft will be a story worth telling. Add love and mercy to cover the script. Amen. 

The Shepherdess