Bare Branches and Blank Pages: 3 Lessons

During the Fall, we observed leaves falling, revealing bare branches. Where we live, the mountains of western North Carolina, apple trees surround us. We love seeing them go through all the seasons, from bud, to apples in a variety of colors, to the gnarly, twisted, bare branches revealed in the late fall. This is my Hubby’s favorite time of the year as he loves seeing those bare apple trees. Something about them simply calls to his heart. I love that he’s so observant.

This is the time where things slow down just a bit before the hectic season of the upcoming holidays. Planning ahead means we aren’t caught having to chase down that last minute special dessert for Thanksgiving, or that one last little thing to even out the gifts beneath our family Christmas tree. For my writer friends, this means planning and writing blog posts or even meeting a deadline a few weeks earlier than due dates.

One of the sayings I learned early in my writing journey is you can’t edit a blank page. If you can manage to get words on the page, you can aways change them to make them better, deeper, and even to reveal God’s heart to one’s readers.

Bare Branches and Blank Pages - 3 Lessons @DDuPreeWilliams #Faith #Writing Share on X

Here are 3 lessons to learn during a dry season, when the page is as blank as the bare branches.

FAITH GROWS IN THE BARE SEASONS

Have you ever considered—when creativity seems lacking, when those pages remain blank day after day—that may be a time when God is calling you to draw nearer to Him, to grow roots rather than to produce fruit. These times teach us to lean in and trust the work God is doing within us, for us. He’s called us to this purpose, He will supply our every need . . . even words for those blank pages. Stay in His Word. Trust His promises.

GOD’S PURPOSE DOESN’T PAUSE WHEN OUR PEN DOES

When those dry seasons of blank pages come, we too often do a whole lot of negative talk. Many times, we think about just giving up and doubting if this is what we are meant to be doing. That blank page seems to scream at us to just get up and walk away. But those blank pages and our doubts don’t mean that God isn’t working behind the scenes. He’s always working. He’s preparing the way for us to move forward in the purpose to which we were called.

We must trust that God aligns opportunities, shapes our hearts.  The Creator forms creative ideas within our minds that just a bit ago seemed so far from the surface. This brings to my mind the old hymn, “I Surrender All”. That is what this situation calls for. Full surrender to God of all those blank pages, all those creative thoughts. He is able.

WALKING BY FAITH MEANS WE ALSO WRITE BY FAITH

The apple trees that surround us teach us that just as God gets them through our often-times brutal winters. Even though they’ve endured ice and snow, those bare, gnarly branches will soon burst forth with spring blossoms. Those blossoms will turn into fruit, serving the purpose of an apple tree. We too, will go through dry, bare seasons of little or no creativity.

Our job in those seasons is to show up, have faith, and trust God. Then, we pray and let those creative parts of us that He placed within us flow. Like those once bare branches that fill with blossoms and eventually apples of every color imaginable, our blank pages will fill with the words God has for each of us. Our job is to trust and obey.

Blessings, y’all!

I’m away from home and I’m having to use my Hubby’s laptop and I have no clue how to put a song on here. Go to YouTube and find a video of “I Surrender All”. I hope it blesses you.