Confession Time. I have CCD.

You may not have heard of it before. It’s Creative Compulsion Disorder.

The symptoms include having a notebook or recording device on my person at all times to CAPTURE the ideas that pop up in my head and won’t leave me alone until I put them in a SAFE place.

It also means when I go from one room to the next I’m super INSPIRED to start a new project.

Case in point:

I walk to the kitchen to get a glass of water. I want to add some lemon or peppermint oil to my glass.

 My oils are stored under my bathroom sink. When I pull out the container I see some other baskets with hair products that are DISLODGED. I know there’s a better way to store them, so I start to REARRANGE them immediately. But, why stop there?

There are several bottles way too low and should be PITCHED. My bathroom waste basket needs to be emptied before I start filling it up with new trash. I think I’ll take it straight to the can outside.

Beside me always is my Miniature Schnauzer, Niki. He wants to go outside as well.

On the way back from DUMPING my wastebasket in the large can near the garage, I notice my landscaping. There are a few strands of monkey grass that have yellowed. I reach down to POP them out at the root.

Looking up to see where Niki has WANDERED to, I notice some twigs that have fallen in the yard as well. I SCOOP them up as I call him to go inside.

Back in the house I realize I’m THIRSTY. I go to the kitchen for a drink and remember I’d already poured myself a glass.   I look at the time and realize I have an appointment coming up SOONER than I thought.

I quickly sort the bathroom items, maybe not as ROBUSTLY as I originally planned, and tidy up the bathroom.

Then I put some peppermint in my glass. By this time, my mind has deliciously WANDERED as I’ve loosely MEDITATED on a Proverb I read earlier to ‘guard your heart’.

I JUMP up to write about something very deep.

As a child I never knew I was RESPONSIBLE for my heart, my whole person. My heart was not my own, in that others in my family DOMINATED the atmosphere with their emotions and I always felt PREY to their whims.

Only in the last 7 years have I begun to see and UNDERSTAND how that affected me.

By now I’m caught up in deep awe and APPRECIATION of being rescued from that system and mindset.

 I marvel at God’s goodness. I’m so thrilled for the FREEDOM I know. I want to share this. It moves me in a POWERFUL way.

 I return to my computer to expound from this soft place of REFLECTION and contemplation. All is well with my soul. I feel His PLEASURE as I write, creating a path for others to know freedom.

***My second confession is I thought I created this ‘disorder’.***

But I googled it after I wrote the above scenario. It turns out others have used it. I read their stories and was INSPIRED again to celebrate the Father’s design on my life, which led to more writing. And, now I need more water.

Time for the truth.

My Masters degree is in Gifted Education. I went back to school later in life when I had to re-establish my IDENTITY. I learned about myself, life and how to TRUST God at new places, out of desperation and dependence.

It was a GODSEND how I even ended up in Tuscaloosa, at The University of Alabama, was able to pass the MAT, and survive a TORNADO in only two months. But that’s another story.    

My point:

Celebrate YOU! Your uniqueness is a GIFT to you and the world. We need you to be you.

—And if you get thirsty… bring a notebook.