When I was in high school it was my dream to be a movie star. I loved to act.

I liked the teacher who was the drama coach in high school. So it was an easy decision to audition for the one-act play.

The characters that I played were so out of the norm, that when I got on stage I knew I would have to leave my identity in the wings. It was a necessity to be  consumed by the character to give justice to the role.  It was exhausting and yet exciting.

I never made it to Hollywood.

I missed the challenge of being someone else on stage.

As I began writing I noticed the same transition occurring.

During the first draft of my novel, I was writing a chapter where the main character was experiencing an emotional slaughter by her mother. After I wrote the chapter I “woke” up and realized I was sobbing uncontrollably. I had become the character.

As a Christian I have wrestled with allowing Christ to take over my life. It should be easy. I could do it for the characters I played and that I wrote about. Why couldn’t I do it for God?

The only answer I have to that question is that if I am truly a Christian it is not an act. There should be no time when I am “off stage.”

There is a difference between acting and transforming. Too many Christians forget that, me included.

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