Why Not???

I have sat here in my pajamas all day long; barely taking the time to even run a comb through my hair. One would think that on my only day off, after a very hectic week I would spend it running errands, catching up on television shows, or maybe tackle my huge list of e-books I have yet to read....nope. What I have done is spend the last 9 hours sitting at my computer doing what I am most passionate about-writing. As mentioned in my bio here on this blog, I am a very passionate woman, and one thing I am truly passionate about is the written word; especially when it's my own! I believe each of us possess God given talents and gifts; talents that we were created to use not be stifled. But alas, I can be a stifler, lol. Many times I have considered using my talents to enrich my life and those around me (that's why they're given, right?) but dismissed it with excuses and justifications. "I just don't have time in my life right now." "What good would it do to pursue it when I need to be pursuing (fill in the blank); or here's the most popular one..."I'll use it someday." Any of that sound familiar? As women, it's easy for us to get caught on that perpetual hamster wheel of trying to do "this" to manage "that" in order to keep all the balls in the air; forsaking why we were created in the first place. Every time I read something C.S. Lewis wrote, I find myself thinking "I'm so glad he didn't forsake his obvious gift with the written word. Or Thomas Edison...else I would be sitting here with pencil and paper in the dark! Now I am no way try to compare any talents/gifts I may have at anything with that of those two men, but you know what? Why can't I??? God gave it to me and I have no idea what I am actually capable of (or you either) because I have never actually pushed it to my limits. And that's my failing... I have a friend who is a fellow writer, but she is much closer to her goal of becoming a published author than I. And why? Because she has the ability to see past the excuses and justifications and just reach for it! She is not enslaved to that stupid hamster wheel; she is a woman of discipline, who knows that she has no limitations in Christ Jesus and that her passion for fulfilling her dream isn't all about her; it's also about those who will benefit from her hard work and determination. As I sat today for part of those 9 hours today writing the forward to her new book "Don't Waste Your Hurricane", I was equally, impressed with her resolve yet suffering from a mild case of jealously! Not that I in anyway begrudge her this season in her life, she has more than earned it, but I wish I could some how summon that spirit of tenacity for myself. I am tired of plodding along in life living "what ifs" when there are people out there, some I am even know, who have decided to put aside the "what ifs" and go for the "why nots". I want to be a "why not".
I'm gone.