It’s been a few weeks since I’ve done Five Minute Friday! Here’s the link to this week’s link-up:
http://fiveminutefriday.com/2018/06/07/fmf-link-up-fly/
“I’m learning to fly, but I ain’t got wings.”
-Tom Petty
What do you suppose it’s actually like for baby birds when they are learning to fly? When they take those first hops on the branch or in the nest, preparing to spread their wings and take to the sky like their mama bird?
Do you think instinct kicks in and they just follow where nature leads or do you think, as movies would have us believe, that there can be a bit of trepidation involved? I mean, do birds have personalities and some are braver than others? Who knows?
For us humans, learning to fly is petrifying. I’m using flying as a metaphor here, flight representing whatever we want to learn. We want people to teach us to fly, convince us we should fly, remind us of our flighworthiness. And sometimes we have those people. When I was becoming a teacher, I had a whole slew of mentor teachers, advisors, and professors walking me through the process and cheering me on.
Now, learning to be a writer at 40? Not so much. I am completely on my own. And as such, I have felt ill-equipped for this. I have figured everyone else who learns to fly must have some kind of an inside track. They must have, like, studied writing in college. Or have done it professionally. Or have folks around them who write who are like, “Yes, you should totally do this, let me give you a leg up.”
Turns out, that’s not true. As I’ve slowly made my way into communities of other writers, I’ve discovered that just about all of them feel as ill-equipped as I do. Each of them is also battling bouts of cluelessness and doubt- even after they’ve actually been published, even those who seem to me like they must be experts and have it all together.
It seems like having no idea what you’re doing is almost a prerequisite for becoming a writer. So if that’s you, jump right in. Learn to fly.
I leave you with this quote from my devotional this morning, Priscilla Shirer’s “Awaken”:
“If you’re sure you’re out of options, if you’re certain that the supplies on hand are nothing compared to the resources He’s made available to someone else, chances are you’ve not taken a second look at what’s already at your disposal. Ask the Lord to open your spiritual eyes to see how much raw material He’s provided for you to utilize in fulfilling His purposes for this moment. Don’t discount the little things. They can become blessed things if you look at them through the lens of divine possibility.”
