What am I devoted to?

This is a question that had been weighing more and more on my mind as 2021, my “intentional” year, drew to a close. I’ve trained myself to really evaluate how I’m spending my time and energy, and I’m so pleased with how “Intentional” did indeed guide me throughout last year. So as I prayerfully considered where to focus in the year to come, I realized that I want to take that same intentionality and do some shaking-things-up. For a purpose.

Which is where that question comes into play. What am I devoted to?

I am devoted to God.
I am devoted to my family.
I am devoted to my call to write.
I am devoted to learning more.

So…are those the things that are getting my time?

Hmm. That question made me stop and think more than I should have had to. Because, no.

While I have “devotional” time every morning, it had been getting shorter and shorter as I felt the squeeze and pressure of so many things that need done. Sometimes it was only five minutes, maybe ten. If it stretched to fifteen, I began to feel like my day–my time to work on my projects–was lost.

And then throughout the course of the day, I found myself using “my” work time for my author-career work, but the majority of my day on other people’s projects (designing, editing, uploading etc. for WhiteFire). These are good, worthwhile things…but here’s what I began to ask myself:

When people ask me what I do, what do I say?
I’m a novelist.
So why is that not getting my time?

When people ask me what the Most Important Thing is, what do I say?
My faith in God and love for Jesus.
So why is that not getting my time?

When people ask me what I strive toward, what do I say?
To always be learning and deepening my understanding of the things that matter.
So why is that not getting my time?

I’ve always prided myself on writing well-researched historical fiction…but I wasn’t spending much time researching. I haven’t been reading much. All of my Most Important Work has been continually pushed to the margins as my husband and I strive to support our family with creative and freelance work (always a challenge!).

In 2022, I want to change that. I want to keep those things I know are most imporant and truly devote myself to them. Were I in academia, I would be applying for a sabbatical, so I’d have some time to study and renew and refresh, to pour myself into learning and going deeper and writing-writing-writing.

Alas, I am not in academia…but still I’m working on a way that I hope and pray will allow me to do more of this ultimate work that God has called me to and less of the pays-the-bills work. Stay tuned for another post about this next week. =)

I hope that 2022 will prove to be a year of prayer, of contemplation, of deep joy, of many words written, of much time spent with my family. I especially pray that as I focus my lens upon those things that matter most, I’ll find new ways to sow into my readers and my community as well; because I fully believe that if we serve well and serve together for those most important things, we’ll see change rippling throughout our days and year and lives.

What are you devoted to in 2022?