Hump Day by Brenda J Wood

“It’s Hump Day,” cries the radio announcer. “Today is Wednesday! We’ve almost made it to the weekend. Rest, relaxation, and good times lie ahead.”

I don’t know what twilight zone he lives in, but this is not a description of my weekends or for that matter, my hump day. It must depend on who you are and what you do.

The typical nine-to-fiver rushes home to a Saturday of grass cutting, a snooze, and maybe a BBQ. The wealthy nine-to-fiver travels slowly along a stopped-up highway to his cottage, where he hopes to relax with grass cutting, a snooze, and maybe a BBQ.

Looming Deadlines

Wednesday is not hump day to the writer. No, for us, hump day is the day we break out in a sweat because our deadline looms. We haven’t a clue what to write, but with enough angst and a few tears, letters merge into words and words form paragraphs and we are safe for another while.

Why do we keep doing this to ourselves? Why do we procrastinate so? Why didn’t we write the piece three days ago? Why do we repeatedly put ourselves in this place of dread, torment, worry, and fear? I’ve concluded that we must like it. It’s our big thrill.

Challenging Blanks

Let others battle lawnmowers and traffic. We have no such elephants in our room. We just have a lot of blanks: blank computer screens, blank thoughts, and blank brains. How can we say we are over the hump when we haven’t even begun to climb it?

Some of us say we are just too busy. Others are busy with more important things than writing.  Let’s face it. The truth is we don’t want to do it at all. Writing hurts. If we do it with all our heart, it takes a big chunk out of us and we don’t want to give it up. We ask ourselves what will happen if we let those words go, if we tell the truth about that really bad day or about the sin that besets us. If we get it on paper, then we have to face our true selves and others will find us out too.

Convicting Directives

Then I read pointy finger verses like this:

“Servants, do what you’re told by your earthly masters. And don’t just do the minimum that will get you by. Do your best. Work from the heart for your real Master, for God, confident that you’ll get paid in full when you come into your inheritance. Keep in mind always that the ultimate Master you’re serving is Christ. The sullen servant who does shoddy work will be held responsible. Being a follower of Jesus doesn’t cover up bad work” (Colossians 3:23-25, MSG).

To my writing heart, it sounds like this:

“Brenda, do what you are told. Your earthly publisher needs your work on time. Write from the heart because ultimately, I am your editor and your publisher. Christ is your proofreader. Sulking about deadlines won’t get you anywhere. You’re a Christ follower. Write your best stuff and send it in on time.”

I sit myself down to write.

brenda-woodBrenda J. Wood is a motivational speaker and author.
http://everydaychristian.com
http://heartfeltdevotionals.com
www.facebook.com/brendawoodspeaker

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