I Give Up!

I Give Up!

by Donna Mumma

 

“Indeed, we count them blessed who endure. You have heard of the perseverance of Job and seen the end intended by the Lord—that the Lord is very compassionate and merciful”

(James 5:11, NKJV).

 

I recently received a rejection letter that hurt. Badly. It wasn’t the first, or last, one of these disappointing emails to come my way, but for a slew of reasons this one gouged my writer’s heart. I walked around in a fog for a week. I questioned my talent and pummeled myself for thinking I could be a writer. Wallowing in self-doubt led me to one conclusion.

I should quit.

I had overreached the limits of my potential and the writing dream withered. Worse than a has-been, I reigned as a never-was.

So, I stopped writing. Instead, I turned my attention to long-neglected household chores. I read, listened to music, and attended family functions. Not once did I open a writing file.

I was done.

But then the holy tap on the shoulder came. God placed before me a subtle, yet clear, message that my writing journey wasn’t over. I needed to push past my hurt feelings, go beyond my self-doubt, and write.

As James 5:11 so eloquently reminds us, the Lord has plans for us as writers. Rarely do the roads to publication follow an easy route. Often, heartache and heartbreak meet us more frequently than the praise and acceptance we crave. We must keep moving, pushing, or trudging forward, remembering that the end will be as he intended and not as we hoped. God has compassion for our frailties, but also desires for us to remain faithful to his calling.

A favorite quote of mine comes from Thomas Edison, a man well-versed in the art of endurance. He said, “Many of life’s failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up.” We don’t want to be among those who lost sight of their calling because they were blinded by the missteps on the way to a divine goal. We want to follow Job’s example and persevere beyond the rejections. Only then will we reap the blessings that come to those who endure.

Dear Lord, hold us up when heartbreak weakens us. Build in us a spirit of endurance to persevere and answer the call you have placed in our lives. 

 

 

 

 

Donna Mumma writes award-winning fiction and non-fiction seasoned with a sense of adventure. An avid believer in education, she holds a M.Ed. in Elementary Education. She serves as Tampa chapter officer of Word Weavers International. A native Floridian, Donna lives in St. Petersburg, Florida with her husband. She is the mom of two college boys and an energetic collie named Duke.