"It's easy, after all, not to be a writer. Most people aren't writers, and very little harm come to them." -Julian Barnes
"If you want to write, to really create anything, you have to risk falling on your face." -Allegra Goodman

Writing means taking a risk. Why? Behind that written fiction are truths and emotions from inside of me. When relating heartbreak through a character, I draw from my own heartbreaks. Should I want to emit tears in the reader, I must make myself cry. Evoking a chuckle must cause me to grin. The risk here is deciding if I will open myself up enough to express the deepest of my thoughts and emotions.
I remember the first time I allowed someone to read a novel I had written. I cautiously handed it over wondering if the reader would think me totally insane. Imagining her bent over my words made me feel so vulnerable. But, when she spoke with me about the story and told me what she had gleaned from it, I was thrilled. The reader actually "got it."
So, I take the risk even though it would be easier to not be a writer. I risk falling on my face in hopes that the message God weaves into my stories will touch someone.
Sometimes what God calls us to do involves risks. What risks do you need to take for Christ today?