Dipping the Quill Deeper: A Writer At the End of My Life

by Eva Marie Everson

My husband and I decided to spend a day in Mount Dora before Christmas, to enjoy the twinkly lights, the holiday music, and the general hustle and bustle of last-minute shopping. 

Mount Dora is a bedroom community about an hour north-west of Orlando, Florida known for its Southern charm, specialty shops, cozy cafes, and delectable restaurants. Everything about it screams, “Come see me!”

So we did.

The day was perfect weatherwise—not too hot, not too cold. The sunlight winked between the buildings and the thick live oaks, casting silver linings to the Spanish moss that dripped from their gnarled branches. We started the day with a cuppa, then slipped in and out of the shops, all of which sold a remarkable number of pricy candles in varying scents, and in general simply enjoyed the day.

In one shop teeming with patrons, I was shoved (not forcefully, but shoved nonetheless), toward a wall, the toe of my shoe nearly bringing down a large plank of wood with words painted in white. Lots of words.

I stepped back to read the message, which turned out to be a quote from the late Erma Bombeck, an American humorist whose written work used to send me into waves of hysterical laughter. But this line did anything but.

When I stand before God at the end of my life, 

I would hope that I would not have a single 

bit of talent left and could say, 

“I used everything you gave me.”

The words stayed with me the rest of the day—through lunch, as we meandered in and out of other shops, when we stopped for another cup of coffee (this time with pastries) . . . When I stand before God . . . I used everything . . .

This One Gift

In the January 2023 issue of Today’s Christian Living magazine, bestselling author, Jerry B. Jenkins, is quoted as saying, “I’m surprised that I am mono-gifted. I had hoped to be more widely talented, but one has to be realistic. I don’t mean to sound falsely modest, but knowing I have just this one gift has motivated me to exercise it all the more.”[1]

While I believe that Mr. Jenkins has more than one gift (he is one of the most giving people I’ve ever had the honor of being associated with), what he has done with the “one gift” most of us 

know him for—writing—he has done well. He can clearly stand before God at the end of his life, as Mrs. Bombeck hoped to do, and say, “I used it all.” 

I believe that, like Mr. Jenkins, most of us have more than one gift, but we writers . . . well, we have one very special gift. To take words, collect them, gather them onto a page (or pages), then shape them for readers of magazines, blogs, devotionals, books, take-home papers, etc. . . . this is a beautiful and precious gift from the Giver of all Good Gifts. And it’s not one that every breathing child of God holds. They may want to write and write well, but in all honesty, writing is not a gift shared by all.

The Old Testament Book of Malachi begins with God’s scolding of Israel’s priests for showing contempt for His name. They reply with a question, “When did we do that?” And God answers, “When you brought lame, diseased, and blind animals to my altar for sacrifice.” (See Malachi 1:6-8)

When we give God less than 100% of our talent—our gift—we, in our own way, show contempt for that gift. 

Happy New Year

I rarely make New Year’s resolutions, but I do create mottos for the year (last year’s motto was, “If it’s not my horse, it’s not my rodeo”). This year’s is (and I’ve created a little sign just for my desk): Is it 100%? Whatever I do in my work as a writer—whatever I do with my gift from Him—I want it to be 100%. I want to stand before God at the end of my life and say, “I used it all.”

What about you?

[1] Stephanie Rische, “A Lifelong Pursuit—Jerry Jenkins Reflects on Five Decades of Writing”, Today’s Christian Living, January 2023.

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Dipping the Quill Deeper: A Writer At the End of My Life, insight from author Eva Marie Everson on @EdieMelson (Click to Tweet)

Eva Marie Everson is the CEO of Word Weavers International, the director of Florida Christian Writers Conference, and the contest director for Blue Ridge Mountains Christian Writers Conference. She is the multiple award-winning author of more than 40 books and countless articles and blogposts. She is also an award-winning speaker and a Bible teacher and the most recent recipient of the AWSA Lifetime Achievement Award (2022). 

Eva Marie is often seen at writers conferences across the States. She served as a mentor for the Jerry B. Jenkins Christian Writers Guild and taught as a guest professor at Taylor University in 2011. She and her husband make their home in Central Florida where they enjoy their grandchildren. They are owned by one persnickety cat named Vanessa.

Eva Marie's latest book, THE THIRD PATH, takes a look at 26 of the questions God asked in the Bible, then makes them personal to the reader. The premise of the book is currently her most asked for continuing workshop at writers conferences.