“I want to figure out how to start writing again. I lost my writing voice somewhere in the midst of life just happening. Weddings. Funerals. Travels. Jobs. Grocery shopping. Insomnia. Stress. Cleaning. There’s always something else to do. To fix. To clean. To think about.

So how do I do “one thing”? Is it even possible? Can I give one thing – my writing – that much attention, focus, and energy…without losing the rest of my life? What about the unknown future sacrifices if I really try to do this thing called “writing”? And what if I work really hard at this one thing but never become successful at actually doing it? “

I wrote these words in my journal in 2018, a journal that somehow got lost – until I recently found it and opened it one evening when I sat down to work on a writing project. Six years later, I am still asking some of these questions in my personal writing and speaking journey.

But in the margin of this journal page, I also jotted down a Bible reference, Phil 3:13, which states: “I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us.”

Isn’t it surprising how easy it is to make something hard? To turn one simple thing into several complicated things? These verses remind me that my “one thing” should never be my writing, or my family, or my responsibilities. My “one thing” must always be aligning myself with God’s heart and will. He will take care of the rest.

When we have God’s “one thing” in mind, the rest of our journey on this earth will fall into its proper place.