Writers and Time: How an Eternal Perspective Can Transform Your Writing Life

From Edie: Discover how an eternal perspective on time can transform your writing life. Find hope, purpose, and faith-filled focus as you walk into eternity daily.

Writers and Time: How an Eternal Perspective Can Transform Your Writing Life

by Beth K. Vogt on @BethVogt

It’s October and I’m thinking about time. The passing of time, to be specific.

It started 10 days ago on the first day of October, when I posted a “Happy October” quote to some friends. My friend Jeane texted back that there were 93 days left in 2025. I reread her message twice. And then when I checked—because yes, I do that—I saw there were 91 days left. 

As of today, there are 81 days left in 2025. Whew! That was fast.

Besides making you feel rushed, you’re probably asking, “What’s your point today, Beth?”

Hang around me long enough, and you’ll discover I love quotes. I read them. Collect them. Learn from them. I’m also particular about how I share quotes. When I post a quote on social media or in a blog post, I include who said it, as well as their biographical information, i.e. when they were born and when they died (if applicable), and their profession. For example:

“All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us.” 

J.R.R. Tolkien (1892 -1973), English writer and philologist

Again, what’s my point?

Spending so much time with quotes, I’ve looked at thousands of dates separated by that little dash. So many times, I’ve realized all-too-few years span the space between someone’s birth and death. 

A few weeks ago, my perspective on what’s written on either side of that little dash was altered. A writer friend shared about her brother, who was tragically killed in a car accident decades ago. A bold believer in Jesus, he would always sign his name with the tag “1971 eternity.”

My friends, I’m embracing this truth. I often say I’m walking into eternity day by day, but I want to hold onto this reality—not just for the rest of 2025, but for the rest of my life. Thanks to God’s gracious gift of salvation through Jesus Christ, I have eternal life. 

I’m Beth K. Vogt, 1959 – eternity.

We’re writers, my friends. We’re all about time as we juggle real life and writing life and dreams and deadlines. We all have one side of our dash completed. There’s no changing our birthdate. The dash represents all the activities we’re filling our life with. But that’s another blog post. Today, I hope your perspective is broadened about your life span. 

How are you walking into eternity?

TWEETABLE

Writers and Time: How an Eternal Perspective Can Transform Your Writing Life from @BethVogt on @EdieMelson (Click to Tweet)

Beth K. Vogt believes God’s best often waits behind the doors marked “Never.” She’s authored 15 novels and novellas, both contemporary romance and women’s fiction. Beth is a Christy Award winner, an ACFW Carol Award winner, and a  RITA® finalist. Her newest contemporary romance novel, Dedicated to the One I Love, released June 20, 2023. Her novel Things I Never Told You, book one in her Thatcher Sisters Series by Tyndale House Publishers, won the 2019 AWSA Golden Scroll Award for Contemporary Novel of the Year. An established magazine writer and former editor of the leadership magazine for MOPS International, Beth blogs for Learn How to Write a Novel and The Write Conversation and also enjoys speaking to writers group and mentoring other writers. She lives in Colorado with her husband Rob, who has adjusted to discussing the lives of imaginary people. Connect with Beth at BETHVOGT.COM.