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What to write about when you have nothing to write about.
Every so often, these days happen. Sometimes more frequently than I care for. There are days that feel void of creativity and inspiration. Days that don’t feel dull necessarily, just quiet, without ideas or insight.
When the Words Don’t Come
Here I sit, waiting and waiting for some divine spark to ignite and fire up the words on the page that will evolve into this week’s blog. And yet here I wait. So what does one write about when you have nothing to say? Do I have nothing to say, or is what needs to be said more deeply tucked away?
Staying on the Surface
Well, my default is to tell you details about my days. Coffee shop gatherings, cool mornings in May, dinner with friends, Sunday night pizza with all my kiddos, spouses, and precious grandbaby—along with a broken washing machine leaking through the ceiling and a stubborn mini fridge that won’t keep my sparkling water cold.
Maybe this is what we do when we don’t want to go deeper. We stay in the details, the safe, ordinary narratives of our days, while something quieter, more vulnerable waits beneath the surface. All the while, life goes on, and our hearts desire to speak. But the noise of our days—the constant motion, the steady hum of responsibilities, can drown out the quieter songs of the heart.
An Invitation Beneath the Silence
But maybe the absence of words isn’t to be avoided, but rather received as an invitation to something more. What if this seeming absence is not absence at all, but an opportunity for an encounter? What if God is not waiting for our words, but for our openness? He’s not looking for polished thoughts, but for an honest heart.
What is happening in your heart today? Can you hear it? Is it filled with promise and hope? Is it filled with exuberance and celebration? Or is it experiencing disappointment or loneliness, anxiety, or grief? Or perhaps you aren’t feeling much of anything.
Permission to Feel
Can you offer yourself permission to feel? Not to fix, not to analyze, not to tidy it up, but simply to notice.
Does your heart need permission to release what it stores? Give it permission!
What does your heart want to say? If it were given the floor, the microphone, the spotlight for just a moment, what utterances would emerge from your heart?
This may be harder than it sounds. Our hearts may be accustomed to restriction, bottling up what may be deemed “too emotional.” What if we can’t control what comes out of our hearts? Or perhaps we’ve convinced ourselves that because we can’t change the past or present, there’s no point in listening to the heart at all.
The Heart Was Made for More
But the heart was made for more than silence, censorship, or suppression. It was made to speak, to sing, to pray, and to praise. It was made to be known and to be loved. And it is often in these very quiet places, when the words don’t come, that we encounter God in a profound way.
Perhaps He is already knocking at the door of your heart, open it, and receive Him. Feel and experience the presence of God.
Write from the Heart
What helps us connect with what’s in our heart? Well, writing, of course.
So, write about what’s in your heart. Put pen to paper (Seriously, write it down. And yes, anyone can write about the songs in their heart.)
- You write what is true and authentic.
- You write what is serious, silly, or somber.
- Allow it to surface.
- Even if it takes time.
- Even if it comes in bits and pieces.
- Even if all you can begin with is: “Lord, here I am.”
Because the Lord looks for openness, not fancy words or prayers. He looks for a willing heart.
May God the Father, who is love and who loved us first, meet you and teach you how to Open the Eyes of Your Heart.
