This time of year we’re consumed with purchasing, wrapping, and giving gifts. We stretch our budgets, schedules, and sanity to position piles of colorful boxes and bags underneath glittery trees. And if we’re honest, we wonder about gifts we’ll receive. Will they be anything we want and like?

As writers, in between we struggle to put words on paper and meet deadlines, wondering and worrying if we’ll finish everything on time. Why did we agree to write during Christmastime, anyway? Why push ourselves through this?

Because we’ve been handed a remarkable gift. A gift from God.

Midst the stress, we can calm our souls and reflect on what these writers say about His gift of writing.

• Writing is a gift from God. “I write because writing is the gift God has given me to help people in the world.”—Anne Lamott

• Writing is a privileged gift. “And what, do you ask, does writing teach us? First and foremost, it reminds us that we are alive and that it is a gift and a privilege, not a right.”—Ray Bradbury

• Writing is a gift to yourself. “Writing is an extreme privilege, but it’s also a gift. It’s a gift to yourself and it’s a gift of giving a story to someone.”—Amy Tan

• Writing is a gift to others. “View your work as a gift to the world—as a bridge built to create connection or a door opened wide through which others might pass. Pour your heart into it, knowing you might make a difference in someone’s life.”—Ann Kroeker

• Writing is a gift back to God. “Your talent is God’s gift to you. What you do with it is your gift back to God.”—Leo Buscaglia

We can pause with gratitude for the gift of writing because “every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights.”—James 1:17

Judith Couchman is a writer, writing coach, and professor who lives in Colorado Springs, Colorado. She’s traditionally published more than 42 books, Bible studies, and compilations. Learn more about her writing at www.judithcouchman.com.

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