Adorning the Dark, 1: Diligence and Motive

If you’re the New Year’s resolution sort of person, then you’re probably still in the sweet spot of making it happen. After all, it’s only been fifteen days. Fifteen days of jogging at 4:00 A.M., of eating nothing but tofu and vitamins, of wishing you were still that slothful person who bid adieu to 2020 just two short weeks ago. If you also enjoy creating things, then you may have resolved to hit the ground running with your projects this year. I may not have advice for 365 tofu recipes, but I can certainly offer help in the creative process.

If you read my introduction to the Adorning the Dark series, you will remember that Andrew Peterson’s most recent book is all about inspiration for creativity. Whether you enjoy writing, sewing, painting, singing, or underwater basket weaving, I hope his stories and advice will be a ray of sunshine into your winter-benighted imagination. 

WHAT’S IT ALL ABOUT?

The book is part autobiography, as many of these books must be. If a writer is going to tell you how to write, he’s probably going to tell you how he writes. And that always involves a story. In this case, the story is interesting and enjoyable, so I don’t mind a bit. 

The other part of the book is advice and, even more so, encouragement. Artists of every kind need both of these in copious supply. We are fragile creatures with butterfly-wing confidence, and any time we feel less alone in our struggles, we experience a glimmer of hope. This book, especially the first several chapters, have done that for me. 

DILIGENCE

But as I mentioned in the introduction, that doesn’t mean he lets us off the hook for getting the actual work done. Bummer. See, I’m currently stalled out on “Chapter 16” of the theoretical book I’m theoretically writing. For many months I was plugging away faithfully almost every night, sometimes dredging 500 agonizing words out of my head and onto my screen. At other times (much more rarely) I’d find myself surprised to see 1,200 words amass themselves while I rambled on. But then came Christmas, excuses, laziness, and defeat. The defeat will last only as long as the laziness, but I know that ball’s in my court.

That’s why I’ve found myself quoting often (with much conviction and guilt) this little doozy: “Being a writer doesn’t just mean writing. It means finishing” (15). Anyone can fiddle around with a hobby, but it takes a serious artist to see the job through. Do I have what it takes? Do you? It really doesn’t boil down to genius for most of us; it boils down to diligence. That could seem depressing too, but at least diligence—unlike genius—is something we can muster up. 

MOTIVE

As if the how of creativity isn’t hard enough, Peterson also touches on the why. As a Christian writer, my motives matter greatly. Mere self-expression isn’t an end in itself, and the desire to become rich and famous won’t cut it either. (Pursuing that goal through the path of writing probably isn’t a great idea anyway.) But Peterson reminds us of Jesus’ command to seek first the kingdom of God and his promise that everything else will be added to us accordingly. “That simple scripture,” he says, “draws into sharp focus the only thing that will satisfy us and our desperate seeking for what it is that we think we want. We may want something harmless, but if it’s out of place, if it comes before the right thing, then what’s benign becomes malignant. We want the wrong thing” (2). 

In contrast to this malignant desire, Peterson shares two facts about the musical compositions of Johann Sebastian Bach. Many people know that at the bottom of his musical manuscripts he would write “SDG”—Soli Deo Gloria. This Latin phrase means “Glory to God alone” and shows Bach’s desire to please God with the product of his labor. But the tops of his manuscripts contain the phrase “Jesu Juva,” which means “Jesus, help!” That’s even more relatable, isn’t it? “There is no better prayer for the beginning of an adventure,” remarks Peterson (8). 

JESU JUVA INDEED

And there is no better prayer for the beginning of this new year. Whether you’ve made fifty resolutions or zero, the fact remains that Jesus offers daily help. May He bless this series, and may it be an encouragement to you, my friend. Until next time, keep plugging away! And good luck with the tofu.

Peterson, Andrew. Adorning the Dark. Nashville, B&H Publishing, 2019.