When I Failed As a Writer (But Won As a Wife)

I just returned home from a 4.5-day trip to Colorado that was supposed to be a writing retreat. I had planned to finish all the edits on my book, plus write more blog posts.

But you know what? I miserably failed as a writer. I didn’t even open my laptop until the plane ride home. All that time in Colorado, I wrote not … one … word.

I failed as a writer. No doubt about it.

But you know what? I won as a wife.

See, my husband was with me. He had planned several things for us to see:

• The highest automobile road in America, up Mount Evans (just outside of Denver);
• Garden of the Gods park in Colorado Springs;
• Dinosaur Ridge near Denver;
• Rocky Mountain National Park; and
• Enjoying the downtown area of Estes Park, which is one of the gateway towns to Rocky Mountain National Park.

I knew he had planned these things, but I figured I would just let him drop me off next to a scenic lake somewhere, and I would write. Or, I thought I would stay behind at our hotel one day and just enjoy the scenery and write there.

It didn’t happen. You know what I did instead?

I drove. My husband loves to look at the scenery, and it’s sometimes unnerving for him to be driving and looking at the scenery at the same time. So I drove him around, almost the whole time.

By doing so, I saw some fabulous sights. I was absolutely overwhelmed by the beauty of God’s creation. But even more importantly, I got to spend quality time with my husband. We had a great time. We laughed a lot. We encountered neat wildlife together. We took photos together. We hugged each other. (Head on over to my Facebook page to check out some of our photos!)

And I would trade those things for any number of writing trips.

Why?

Because at the end of my life, when all is said and done, nobody’s going to care how many blog posts I wrote. Oh, it will matter in Heaven. If I can touch even one of you, my readers, through the power of words, it matters. Everything done for the King has eternal impact.

But it won’t matter to me at the end of my life. What will matter to me is my husband and my children. Will I be able to look at my gorgeous, amazing husband with no regrets? Or will I look in his eyes and tell him how sorry I am, that I should have loved him more, spent more time with him, and cherished every moment we had together?

I want to live the life God has given me to the fullest. But that means that I put first things first. My husband comes before my writing, always.

But sometimes I forget that. Sometimes I hole up in the office at home too much, instead of snuggling my husband on the sofa like I should. Sometimes I do too much church work and too little cooking him dinner. Sometimes I put taking care of my friends ahead of taking care of my husband.

But I’m trying. I’m not perfect, but I love him more than words could ever say. I’m so grateful for this gift of a companion, a covering, and my best friend that God has given me. I’m so thankful.

So this writing trip was a writing failure. I failed as a writer.

But I won as a wife, and I’ll take that over writing any day.

What do you need to fail at today, so you can win at something else?