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A new year is right around the
corner. With it comes a time to
evaluate our callings and where we spend our time, talents, and
treasures. It’s a time to check in with God and see if we are where He
wants us. Let’s face it, writing is hard work. It requires long hours,
discipline, a commitment that is sometimes daunting. At times it’s easy
to wonder if it’s worth the effort and sacrifice.
Each time this question begins
to pound in my mind, I take a couple
steps. I ask God if writing is still what He wants me to do. I try to
hold writing in an open hand. While it’s something I would love to do
for years to come―I have too many stories to tell to stop now―if this
is no longer where God wants me, then I need to be willing to move. So
far, His answer has been stay. But an open hand is key to my search for
direction.
If His answer remains stay, then
I have to search for peace. Writing
is a waiting game. Before we’re published it’s a waiting game to find
the story that resonates with the right agent and then the perfect
editor at the serendipitous moment. I don’t know about you, but I can’t
control that. I’m convinced that’s one reason God has me in this crazy
business. As publishers are bought, editors move houses or lines, and
change happens, in a blink we can move from almost there to no idea if
we’ll ever be there. Still know that God uses each twist and turn to
further His purposes in our lives.
Writing some days is purely an
act of obedience, an act that brings
pleasure to our God because He asked us to do it. Maybe someday a
multitude of readers will discover our words and push them to the top
of a list. Or maybe God will direct them to the handful of readers who
will find healing as they see themselves in our characters.
The most precious reader letters
I receive are those from
individuals who have lived the pain I foist on my characters. Maybe it
was a miscarriage. Maybe it was date rape or an unplanned pregnancy.
But as they see themselves in the heroines, some have let me peek
inside their experiences.
If I never reach a best-seller
list, that will still be enough.
Through my obedience, God whispered to a heart. Isn’t that what it’s
all about?
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