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What Does Your Heart Long For?
As I sat on the beach, I was reading the book of 1 Samuel and came across the story of Hannah. She longed for a child to the point of deep anguish and prayed to the Lord as she wept bitterly. She couldn’t let go of the desire. The longing. The want. I could resonate with her as I too was praying to God about a deep longing I had. Only what I wanted was regarding my writing and the hunger I lived with to write more books. Impact more people for Him. Inspire others through the written word and art. Amid life, work, family, and ministry, I wanted this deep yearning to become reality. I felt like Hannah pouring my heart out to God and letting Him know my anguish and need. As creatives/dreamers—whether we are writing books, articles, blogs, screenplays or songs, we have this yearning inside to take what we sense God is giving us and produce all these creative babies to offer to the world. We long to share our stories to inspire and make a difference in someone’s life. We can’t help it. We dream of it. We pray for it. And sometimes we are in anguish because of it and can feel downcast at having to wait and wonder if publishing books, producing songs, or writing plays that people read, hear, or see will ever happen for us. The other thing I noticed in the story was Hannah’s husband, Elkanah. I saw the way he wanted to love his wife in her pain and wanted to be enough for her. He even asked her, “Hannah, why are you weeping? Why don’t you eat? Why are you downhearted? Don’t I mean more to you than ten sons?” There was no doubt Elkanah loved his wife and was concerned for her, and that he wanted to cheer her up. But he couldn’t alleviate the burden she carried. He couldn’t. It was not a bad thing, God simply had something different for Hannah that was birthed from her relationship with God and His purpose for her life. I was reminded of the people we may come across in our lives that mean well but may not know the calling and longing we carry around to write. To create. They mean well when they say we shouldn’t worry or try so hard, or maybe they try to persuade us to stop writing because nothing has happened with it yet. Reading about Hannah encouraged me to keep praying, seeking God, and writing my heart out. Own my longing and what I desire. Don’t expect others to get me, get my passion, or understand my need to create and put something out there in the world. It’s not a bad thing. Let it be enough between me and God, that this is for me to do. This is my creative baby to pray for and what He has put in my heart to accomplish. Fellow dreamers, I want to encourage you today that wherever you are in the process of your dream, keep writing. Keep believing. Keep asking. Keep moving forward and continue praying for what you long for. (And when you hear your loving, concerned, Elkanah in your life—maybe a spouse, child, or friend—be gracious, and KEEP WRITING! Good news, Hannah got her miracle and had a son, Samuel, whom she dedicated to the Lord. She also went on to have more children as God blessed her and Elkanah.) Your passion and desire to write and create is your gift from God. It is your Samuel to dedicate to the Lord when it is birthed. It is your joy to offer up. Happy creating and dreaming in 2021! Blessings and hugs, Rikah Thomas www.rikahthomas.com
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I love using words to paint pictures. I love using paint to speak words of art. - Rikah Archives
February 2023
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