Writing, Running, and Sowing Seed

By Paul Roberts

As you read this, if you read it the week it’s published, Carol and I are somewhere in our first week of our first creative camp for kids. I am in the middle of an intense, fun, energizing, draining week trying to share with 7 middle school students the ideas from our “cultivating creativity” toolkit in a way that helps them incorporate the tools into their lives each day. Every day. From now on.

Of the five tools we are sharing with them this week,  I can say that “sowing seeds,” in my (almost) daily journal has had the greatest impact on my own creative life. Today I want to spend just a bit of time talking about why that is the case.

Many of you have heard me refer to the writings of Pastor Eugene Peterson. One of his most popular books is titled A Long Obedience in the Same Direction. It has had a profound impact on my life, but I’ve never read it. My father, Pastor Burt Roberts, used that phrase regularly in his own preaching and teaching. He emphasized that concept in the area of Christian growth and discipleship. But long obedience in the same direction can be applied in many areas of life.

My sister and I enjoy a nice 2 or 3 mile run when we get together. She has been practicing long obedience in the same direction when it comes to running. I have not. Her daily run streak of at least 1 mile a day, rain or shine, stretches back over 8 years. I ran twice in the month of June. She has demonstrated long obedience in the same direction. Me…not so much.

So, am I a runner?

The first thing I’d have to do to answer that question is define the word runner. I have not yet lost the necessary ability to go for a short run with my sister when she shows up next week. But to be a runner, I need to exercise that ability regularly. And I need to be satisfied with the idea that I will never, ever, be able to run as fast as I once did.

So, am I a writer?

I write regularly. Nearly every day in my sowing seed journal. I write in a variety of styles, for different purposes, for different audiences. For the last year, I can say I have been practicing long obedience in the same direction when it comes to my writing. I am exercising those writing muscles regularly. Can I train harder? Yes. Can I write daily? Even if it is just the writing equivalent of one mile a day? I think so. What will happen to me and my writing goals if I practice long obedience in the same direction? For the next eight years?

Let me answer that by referring back to the items in our toolkit, and my goals for our campers this week.

Sowing Seed is a bedrock, foundational exercise to help me and my campers to have a closer Creator Connection.

Creative Rendezvous and Weekly Awareness walks (or runs) are both intended to bring me and my campers into a closer Creator Connection.

Being part of a Creative Community, even for just one week at a creative camp, brings me and my campers into closer connection with our Creator.

I am convinced that the discipline it has taken my sister to run every day for the past eight years has brought her into a closer relationship with the Creator.

There is an…interconnectedness, to life and to others, that I want for me, for my campers this week, and for you who are reading this and pursuing your own creative goals. Don’t pursue a daily sowing seed journal time religiously; just try it every day for a while, and see if it leads to the Creator.

And now, I’m going for a short run. See you next week, Sis.

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When have you experienced "long obedience in the same direction" in your life? How did it impact your life?

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