A seasoned writer once said, “When you have enough rejection letters to paper your wall, then you are a real writer.” That being the case, I certainly qualify as a “real writer!” If I had saved all my rejection slips, I could paper many walls. Although my articles, devotionals, and stories have been published in many magazines and periodicals, they were far outnumbered by the rejections.

Each time a rejection slip arrived, I had a choice. I could give up or I could persevere. Sometimes persevering meant recognizing that I needed more training. I took a college course in Rhetoric and Composition, as well as in Creative Writing. I also took a yearlong course in fiction writing through the Writer’s Digest School of Writing and attended writer’s conferences and workshops.

But first I had to determine that my desire to write was strong enough to overcome all the negatives that go along with writing. The following excerpt of the devotional, Stewards of God’s Gifts, from my book, Homespun Faith, tells of my struggle.

“I want to write, Lord. I really want to write”

I don’t know how many times I said those words as I fretted about the lack of time in my schedule for writing, but today a clear response penetrated my ongoing litany. “Do you, Daisy? Do you really want to write?”

The words hung in the air, confronting me, challenging me. Did I really want to write? Was I serious enough about writing to put up with the aspects of it that I didn’t enjoy, or was it something I liked complaining about without having any intention of taking serious action?

It was a painful process, but eventually I had an answer. I wanted to write. I was tired of whining and read to take action. There were still hurdles to overcome, but those things were actually of secondary importance now that I’d settled the major question…

Many others much more famous than I were also faced with the choice of whether or not to give up when they failed. Before inventing a commercially viable electric light bulb, Thomas Edison is said to have failed over 10,000 times. When asked by a newspaper reporter if he felt like a failure and if he should give up after having gone through over 9,000 failed attempts, Edison simply stated “Why would I feel like a failure? And why would I ever give up? I now know definitely over 9,000 ways an electric light bulb will not work. Success is almost in my grasp.” Wow! That’s perseverance!

Henry Ford of the Ford Motor Company, one of the most successful automotive companies of all time, had two failures that ended in bankruptcy before he succeeded with the present Ford Motor Company. Walt Disney was fired from Kansas City Star because his editor felt he “lacked imagination and had no good ideas,” and Amy Grant’s own mother told her, “I don’t think singing is your gift, Amy.” One of the most renowned presidents of the United States, Abraham Lincoln, had a monumental list of failures before becoming the 16th president of the United States.

In her devotional, Running the Race, in The Upper Room, Judith Wege says, “The idea is that a ‘real’ writer doesn’t quit but perseveres. A real writer keeps running the race.” I believe that’s true whatever our profession or vocation. Hebrews 12:1b says, “let us run with patient endurance and steady and active persistence the appointed course of the race that is set before us.” (AMP) We’re called to be stewards of the talents and abilities God has given us, no matter how many times we fail. How we use those gifts may change in different seasons of our lives but the Holy Spirit will direct us to the “good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do” (Ephesians 2:10) if we don’t get discouraged and give up.

Father, forgive us when we refuse to develop the gifts you have entrusted to us. Help us remember we are only stewards, not owners of the abilities you have given. Amen.

(If you’d like to view a scrapbook of my published work, please click on this link.)

Through the Years Scrapbook of my published work