Last week I sat on my front porch wiping away tears after finishing the kindle version of “On the Edge of the Dark Sea of Darkness“. It was the first in a trilogy of fantasy books written by Andrew Peterson.
The really interesting thing is I had already listened to all of the books in the audio form….yet somehow reading it was a more emotional experience.
Though I knew what was coming, the tears came from my eyes anyways
This emotional experience came from the hard work of Andrew Peterson, a Christian musician and author. I have an incredible amount of respect for him because he wrote an incredible book on writing as well as artistic creation called “Adorning the Dark“. In this book he challenges those called to create to make something excellent. The wingfeather saga (On the Edge of the Dark Sea of Darkness is the first of four books) bears the mark of a man who put an incredible amount of hard work into his writing. And yes….creates something excellent.
As I look back on my experience on the porch last week it reminds me how precious it is for someone to demand excellence in what he does
And how few of us demand it
I don’t think people willfully choose average work instead of excellence. The thing is excellene takes self-discipline, patience, and LOTS of hard work! Along with this is our infatuation with productivity in life. Most of us would rather do many average things quickly or easily instead of doing one excellent thing.
The thing we forget is average work keeps us very busy….But it is a poor legacy
All of us want have something that will be left behind for the next generation. Whether it’s a ministry, discipleship of believers, raising of children, or writing our work will outlive us. The only question is what kind of work will be the foundation of our legacy.
Andrew Peterson because he put in the hard-work and discipline now has books as well as music that will stand the test of time. By the grace of God it’s my desire that Vincentian mothers will be reading the Wingfeather Saga to their children just like I hope to read it to them, because an author committed himself to excellent work.
Dear friend you and I will proabably never publish a book or write a song. But this doesn’t mean our work is unimportant. God gives a calling to each one of us, and for the sake of the next generation, we must do it with excellence.
Johnhwilburn.org 