As I was helping my son with a writing assignment, he asked why his rough draft couldn’t just be his final draft since the paper was ‘already perfect’. I tried to explain the importance of revising our work because it can always be better, but twelve-year-olds aren’t prone to seeing it that way. He is understandably more interested in getting the work done as quickly as he can so he can get back to having fun, but I hope that someday he sees the value in making his work the best that it can be.

Writers have many different styles when it comes to rough drafts. Some of us like to put pen to paper and slog through, pushing forward to get as much of our thoughts out before going back and perfecting them. Others – and this is the category I mostly fall under – pore over every word as they’re writing, wanting to make sure the thoughts are coming out and being communicated accurately as they go. Most writing styles are probably a little bit of both, with the corrections being done along the way and more happening at the end. There is no ‘right’ way to write, at least when it comes to the process.

In the same way, I think of God as the author of our lives. As He writes our stories, we are being refined one step at a time, moment by moment, and He’s always got final revisions to do once a chapter is complete. When we look back on a chapter we’ve just been through, the beauty of His revisions is revealed. He doesn’t leave us unedited – our stories don’t end without polishing.

I have been in seasons of suffering and grief where I felt incapable of functioning normally.  I have felt the knife of betrayal so deep that I wondered if I’d ever stop bleeding. I have felt abandoned and misused and lived through moments when I could only respond out of a place of hurt. 

And yet I was never left in those places. I was never stranded in one chapter of my life, no matter how forsaken I might have felt during those dark times. My story kept going. My author kept giving me the tools I needed to continue living my adventure.

You may be in a chapter that feels too dark, wondering how – or if – it’s all going to turn out good again. Maybe you’re at the cliffhanger, waiting for the next chapter to begin so you can find out how you get out of your predicament. Whatever the challenge, your author is still writing and making the revisions He needs to prepare you for the chapters to come. 

As I look back on my life, I see His hand over all of it, and I’m grateful that I didn’t give up on the story He was writing. No doubt there were times I wanted to pick up the pen and scribble out certain parts of it and skip to the happy ending, but our God is a creator, the master of His craft, and He is meticulous in the construction of His work. The incredible stories we have to look forward to are still unfolding.

I hope to do better at embracing the process of refinement in my own life. I may be a work-in-progress, but I will never be alone in it, and I will never have to wonder if it’s all worth it. The inspiration, beauty, and wonder of a life well lived puts hope in the hearts of those who turn its pages. May all of our assignments be the best that they can be.