Me: God, I'm running out of ideas for my books. Why can't I be so naturally creative like You? I mean, with Your own hands you carved the deep canyons! You made the infinite reach of the star-filled sky with more than 350,000,000,000+ galaxies that for so long generations of people never even knew existed! You specifically gave each person a laugh that they share with no other person in the entire vast universe! You invented coral plants that are so sensitive that if temperature varies by even a few degrees, they can die. I won't go into the details of sex, but Lord, even that never ceases to amaze me! How marvelous Your creations are! ...but then I can hardly type up just a few lines of inspiring words for people who have never even heard my voice to read?! Bahumbug.

God: "Hardly type a few lines of inspiring words?" DOUBT. That right there was a paragraph of perfection! Abby, you are far more creative than you believe and more blessed than you will ever allow yourself to accept.

Me: Okay, but even still. I may spend hours working on a chapter, being "creative" per se, but it doesn't go anywhere! Your creation reaches so much deeper, into the soul of every living, breathing creature. But mine... they just bounce off the wall right back at me.

God: Don't compare your worldly being to My eternal being, silly kid! I know it may seem like your words are bland and ring hollow sometimes or like they only reach two inches from your lips, but Abby, your words are worth more than pure gold! Think of it like this: You offer your friend your afternoon snack, not really expecting to have anything left when they finish but secretly hoping for some. Your friend, on the other hand, is going to try to get as much out of this offer as they can! When it's all said and done, your friend hands you the container with only two skimpy bites left. You're disappointed. But why? You offered it to them, so why should you expect anything to remain?

That's the thing. When you spend hours planning and typing out a chapter for others to read and feed from, you secretly expect a similar kind of treat in return, whether it be in the comments or in a praiseful message. But if you read in that fancy new Bible you purchased today, you'll see that you are to do good without seeking or expecting anything in return. If you do, then that good is no good. That is why you feel that your words ring hollow and are simply letters on a screen. That is why you feel empty.

Me: I guess you are right.

God: It's kind of a habit of mine. ;)