Have you ever retained a line from a book or movie long after you have forgotten where you heard or read  it?

When I was a child, I read a series of children’s books about forest animals who of course talked and carried on their little lives in the woods.  One of these characters was a hedge hog.  At a moment of crisis for this little hedge hog, the narrative says of him, “He thought and thought until he thought a hole in the ground.”

Now for the life of me I cannot remember the author of those charming little books.  I can’t remember the title of the series and I can’t remember the name of the book.  But I remember that line.  It returns to me every time I am thinking a hole in the ground.

This week I have been thinking a hole in the ground.  I am in the process of trying to learn about  tweeting, blogging, pinterest-ing and facebook-ing, and how they all fit together.  I am also in the process of building a website (thanks to Gretchen Louise http://gretchenlouise.com/).  In the midst of that, I am attempting to engage in some creative writing.  I have never been a person who is plagued with headaches.  This week I have had a headache nearly every day.  Like I said, I am thinking a hole in the ground.

Finally, I decided to simply step away from it for awhile.   I was not being productive in anything, and I needed to take care of some household tasks.  When I stepped away and changed my focus, I made an enlightening discovery.

Inspiration doesn’t come from thinking a hole in the ground.  Inspiration comes from living life and listening to the voice of the Holy Spirit. When my hands are in the soil, He talks to me about cultivating faithfulness (watch for that blog), when I harvest my lavender, He reminds me that the oil poured over the head of Jesus was oil of spikenard (watch for that blog), and when I mix up a batch of bread, He talks to me about avoiding the leaven of the world (yes, you guessed it, another blog to come).

Just this morning during my morning coffee with Jesus, He whispered a truth into my heart. What I write should always be the  product of time spent with Him, never the motivation for it.” click to tweet

So from now on, when I feel myself  thinking a hole in the ground, I will take a walk with Peanut (my little rescue dog), take a garden break, or even sweep the kitchen floor.  And I will ask the Lord to still my inner hedge hog while I rest in Him.

And by the way, if there is anyone out there who can tell me what book series this quote came from, will you please?  I want to give credit where credit is due.

Goodbye for now.  I’ll see you again soon at My Kitchen Table, where there’s always room for another friend.

© Sharon E. Coleman 2013