You might be surprised at the unorthodox way some of these articles are formed. When I am able to be quiet, I sometimes hear phrases or sentences. At other times, they come to me in conversations I am having with friends. If I have an opportunity, I write them down. I have a collection of phrases, sentences, and ideas written on old envelopes, napkins, receipts, and other scraps of paper. They are all clipped together and stuffed into the top drawer of my desk. If the building were to catch fire, they are the first thing that I would rescue. I look over them every few days.
Every once-in-a-while, one of these scraps will take on a life of its own and begin to form itself into an article or poem. The recently-published article titled “Theocentric” began about nine months before it appeared in the newsletter with the final sentence: Pain may cut to the quick, but God is in the marrow. About three months ago, the word “Theocentric” came to me as an anchor for that sentence, and I wrote the article after those two pieces came together.
God is funny that way; a seed one day, a sprout months later, and all of a sudden there’s ripe fruit under your nose. All the time, you thought you were supposed to be plowing, watering, or weeding in another part of the garden. I’ve learned that God’s garden is always full of surprises; always blooming and bearing fruit in unexpected places. Sometimes I think I miss it altogether, oblivious to the abundance. I don’t even notice until the fruit falls off the tree and begins to rot. I’m trying to pay better attention, but my own fears and frustrations often get in the way.
