I’m only four years into this Writing Journey, but a lot has been learned…

There’s so much more to it than simply sitting in front of a computer and typing 85K words. There are hours upon hours of editing, rewrites and revisions, proofing, formatting, and much, much more.

Hardest lesson so far—No matter how much effort I put into a manuscript, it will never be flawless. A typo or grammatical error will get past me. I’ve learned to appreciate a good editor and how to heed to their guidance. Ultimately, the goal is to make my story the best it can be. I’ve received email revisions that have made me cringe, but then I get excited because I know my story is about to get even better! I’ve learned that a good editor is on your side and it’s wise to accept those RED Marks.

A certain Bible verse reminds me of this and has shown me how our life is like a letter and Jesus is the ultimate Editor.

2 Corinthians 3:3 (NIV) – You show that you are a letter from Christ, the result of our ministry, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone, but on tablets of human heart.

Sometimes we don’t present our best letter, but that doesn’t mean our story is over. We all make mistakes. Don’t let your mistakes define you.

GOOD NEWS! Each time we mess up a part of our story, Jesus is there, ready to make corrections. Ask for His forgiveness, and move on with the mindset to improve your letter to reflect Christ. And then, don’t miss this step, FORGIVE YOURSELF. Jesus won’t ever hang the errors over your head, so neither should you.

Word of Advice… Don’t be lazy! Just because we have a Great Editor DOES NOT give us a pass to not try to do our best. When I send off a manuscript to be critiqued and edited, I truly try my hardest to present the best story from the get-go. I don’t want to create more work for the recipient than possible. If we approach our life story in the same manner, I bet we would avoid some slippery mistakes altogether.

More GOOD NEWS! My readers will never see the red mark-ups on the final product of my book. All of the revisions are squared away before publication. This will be the same on the day we hand over our finished letter to God.

Jesus is not keeping a thick folder of all our mistakes. Each time we ask Him to forgive us, Jesus is hitting the delete button and making revisions to our lives. No history of those mistakes will remain.

1 Corinthians 13:5 – Love keeps no record of our wrongs. (What a Gift!)

My letter will continue to show red mark-ups until my last day on earth, but once that has passed away, my letter will no longer look a mess. If you’ve asked Jesus into your heart, your letter won’t either.

Those who have not asked Jesus, perfecting your letter won’t happen on your own. Give it to Jesus. You need Him. Your letter will be much sweeter with Jesus centered in it.

Simple way to get your letter on the right path…

Romans 5:8 – But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

Romans 6:23 – For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

If you believe in these two verses, then you’re covered! Share it with others while you’re at it! Hallelujah!

God made it so, so easy for us. Don’t complicate it. Give your letter over to Him to edit and perfect!

BTW – I bet you found at least one typo in this post… ;-)