A few days ago I brought my son to a birthday party at the local trampoline park.

I was of course careful not to tell him too early that we were going – it’s a place he would live if he could. Every time I take him there I love watching how he is growing up. From almost jumping in the toddler park to having to yank him out of the teenager area where he marvels at their form. There is a climbing wall offering heights about 10 feet over a giant pit of foam cubes, and with this visit it didn’t take Benaiah long to start his conquest to the top. With a dare from his mother (who, me?) he eventually reached the very top and with a one-toothed grin leaned back and fell ten proud feet into the pit. He is a brave boy.

I like to think he gets his bravery from me – but though I can be brave in some ways, I lack any sort of courage in others. Sometimes I wrestle with writing. I’ve posted less than 10 posts on this blog in the last 3 years – but there are 68 unpublished drafts wasting away under a tab I’m afraid to even open.

In 2019 I had an idea for an article in a Christian magazine and for whatever reason the editor of Christianity Today thought it was worth her time to help me write it. The article was about 9 paragraphs….it took me 9 months to write. By the end of it I could hardly even get through reading the intro, it was so vulnerable and boring and redundant in my eyes I sincerely hoped it would end up on the bottom of the pile.

But I think that’s how writing works. Because writing may come naturally to some people – but as with any talent, if not cultivated with hard work, curiosity, and bravery – it is something that will wither and die.

I heard a challenging view on a podcast a few years ago and it’s stuck with me every time I think about sitting down to write:

“None of that [platform building] has to do with being an aspiring writer. That is an aspiring famous person. To be an aspiring writer, that’s a craftsman’s job. You have to do the necessary work of practice.” (Barnabas Piper, Malcontents Pod)

It’s such an odd time to be a writer. Because I can post something in 140 words that might provoke people – but is that craftsmanship? Or storytelling? The real work of writing and storytelling takes years, yes – but years alone (as I have seen in the past four) holds no promise of growth. It takes commitment.

And courage.

To not “x” this tab.