rickssharon@comcast.net

One Christmas Holiday I learned a big lesson from a five-inch white and brown hamster. His name is Chance, and he normally lives at my children’s school in a cage near the chalk-board. This Christmas he needed a place to crash, and so after great deliberation, I agreed to host him. At first, Chance spent a lot of time hiding in his little house inside the cage. And I spent a lot of time stacking things on top of the cage. I was terrified that he would escape and I’d wake up in the morning with a hamster on my head. Perhaps he feared the same thing—me escaping my world and invading his. But eventually we both calmed down, and Chance taught me a lesson about discipline, commitment, and determination.

Everyday around 7:00 p.m., he would walk on his squeaky wheel for about an hour. I could literally tell the time by the sound of the wheel, and nothing distracted him from his routine. As the days passed, I wondered how Chance found the motivation to walk the wheel day after day. There was no one to cheer him on and no reward at the end. There was just him and his wheel, sort of like writers with their pens.

Chance’s faithfulness inspired me. As Christians writers, we have a message for the world. We have a word from the most high. The world should be able to tell the time by words we write. They should be inspired by our faithfulness. The Lord is soon to come! He looks with favor on those of us who are faithful. Take a chance today. Renew your commitment to write for God. Write His words when no one cheers you on and there doesn’t seem to be any reward.

Be a faithful squeaky wheel every day of this coming year. Have a wonderful 2007!

Copyright Sharon Ricks