Connections

Ok. I’m pumped. I’ve just returned from the Blue Ridge Mountains Christian Writer’s Conference in North Carolina, and I’m ready to write, write, write! I am so grateful to have been able to meet and network with so many talented writers. It is soul soothing to be around people that get me. People who understand that there are always imaginary characters in imaginary settings running around in my head. They listen intently as I speak of stories that haven’t happened and never will except on the printed page. They agree wholeheartedly when I describe the wellspring of emotions that I experience on a regular basis as a writer. It is an exciting, exasperating journey and there is none other like it.

I fellowshipped with old friends and made some new friends. Cara, it was so fun to meet you in such a God moment way! Diana, thank you for the impromptu prayer you whispered in my ear. What a blessing you are. Elva, always you are my mentor and friend and inspiration on so many levels. God uses you in remarkable ways! Mary, I want to see those pictures! Edie, you are an amazing woman. Great conference! Ramona, you may not realize it yet, but you’ve just amped up my deadline. This first novel will be finished this summer! You’ve encouraged me, and I thank you for that. Yvonne, thank you for the opportunity you’ve given me to be part of your “Moments” series. Lori, though I don’t see you often, you are often in my thoughts, and I cherish your friendship. Beth, I know that your accomplishments are bittersweet because they are born of pain, but you, as the speaker said, have the unique opportunity to save lives. You will go far, my friend. David, this whole experience was so much richer because you shared it with me.

The list could go on, and on, and on. Connections. It is my belief that people do not cross our paths by accident. I learned several years ago that God places people in our lives at just the right time to encourage us, hold us up during tough times, help us heal or to enrich us. I value each connection I share with those who intersect with my life.

And if it were not for Lisa, I would not be where I am on this writing journey. Lisa does not aspire to be a writer, but she has an incredible gift of words. Four or five years ago, she was the friend that checked on me every single day during and after my divorce offering soothing words of hope. She prayed with me, listened to me say the same things over and over, and over and over until I got it all out of my system. She cried with me, wiped my tears, fought for my sanity and defended me whether I was right or wrong.

In the middle of all that pain, I shared with her my lifelong desire to be a writer. Next thing I knew, she started writing a story. Not to be outdone, I picked up my dormant manuscript and starting writing again. Somewhere along the way, she abandoned her story and picked up mine. She would read, re-read, critique, suggest, and help plot. She accompanied me to the first writing conference that jumpstarted my passion for the writer’s life, then she stepped back gracefully and let me run with it while she turned in another direction to use her beautiful words to lift up, pray for, and encourage others. Thank you, Lisa, for always being there. My sister by heart. For putting up with my moods and for calling me out when need be. Thank you for your encouragement and selfless friendship.

Do you have positive connections in your life? Do you believe you would not be where you are if not for them? If so, please join me in giving them a shout out so the world can celebrate with you!  

The End of the Rope

All of us have reached a point in our lives when we feel like we are at the end of the rope. In fact, I would say this probably happens several times over the course of one’s life. The past couple of months have been one of those times for me. It has not been any one thing that has caused me all the distress, but several relentless events that converged together at the same time with enough persistence to catapult me into despair. Grains of sand, Jentezen Franklin called them in one of his sermons, little grains of sand that alone would be considered inconveniences or irritants but several grains banded together in your shoes can wear the skin off your feet over an extended period of time.

And so, after a couple of months of lonely holidays as a divorcee, excruciating deadlines at my day job with long hours, the beginnings of a head cold, writing frustrations, and monetary shortages, I had a meltdown. Any one or two of these things would have been manageable, but all of them together left me exhausted, feeling hopeless, and lacking direction.

I am an accountant by day and a writer by night. This past Saturday I had to work extra hours on my day job because of a looming accounting deadline. Already burned out from the long hours for the past sixty days, I literally had to force myself to get dressed and move forward. I wanted to curl up in a warm place and sleep through the rest of the winter, but I pushed those thoughts aside and dressed for work.

Around lunch time a writing friend and mentor called to check on me. I didn’t mean to unload my burdens on her, but she phoned right when I felt like letting go of the end of the rope. She said, “Well, let’s just pray about this right now.”

She asked God to give me wisdom in my work and for my hectic schedule, specifically praying that I gain wisdom to see the big picture rather than wallow in the details. Definitely something I needed since I was buried deep in the details. I felt like a dog chasing his tail, stuck in an endless cycle that was going no where, frustration building to a frenzy.

My friend’s prayer was effective. By the end of the day I had a clear vision of how to handle the situation in which I now found myself. As I stood in the doorway of my office and surveyed the mess of papers strung out all over my desk and the floor, I asked God for his long range wisdom for my situation. Once I stepped aside and allowed God to infuse me with His wisdom, He revealed to me that pride clouded my ability to think clearly. Pride had kept me from seeking professional help in an area that I was supposed to be quite capable. I didn’t want to admit that I couldn’t figure out the problem myself, but once I realized pride kept me in this cycle of frustration, I began to formulate a viable long range plan for dealing with the time consuming problems that kept me in over my head. If I had sought wisdom earlier, I could have been spared much of the extra work and frustration.

Why do we always wait until we are at the end of our rope to cry out? It doesn't make sense, but as humans with short sighted mentalities, we hang onto that slippery cord as long as we possibly can. We stare downward into the abyss over which we dangle precariously in despair of what lies beneath before something causes us to look upward and send that signal for help.

Have you ever had a situation in which a prayer for wisdom helped you understand what was compounding your frustration? If so, please share!

 

 

Divine Moments

The dream in my heart has always been to write fiction novels that entertain, encourage and inspire, and for the past four years I have pursued that goal by putting one word after another onto the pages until sentences became paragraphs and eventually those paragraphs grew into a few chapters. And, yet, that project is still unfinished.

I look forward to the day when it is completed. The process has certainly given me a whole new appreciation for the meaning of perseverance, but in the meantime, God has steered me in a different direction, one in which I am writing more nonfiction than fiction. And, that's okay, because only He knows why and for what He designed me. I'm just the tool in His shed.

Earlier this year I was honored and so excited to be part of a project entitled Divine Moments, a compilation of true stories about God's amazing presence in our lives. The project was spearheaded by Yvonne Lehman and includes fifty stories written by thirty seven different authors. The book is a project of love and exhibits the passion each writer has for sharing the amazing power of God with the world. All author royalties will be donated to Samaritan's Purse, a Christian organization that provides spiritual and physical aid to hurting people around the world.

And it is with equal excitement that I am looking forward to the release of the next book in this series entitled Christmas Moments that will be out in time for the holiday season. Like the original, all author royalties will be donated to Samaritan's Purse.

These stories weave a common thread which suggests that perhaps the only explanation is that God had a hand in it.

Do you remember a time in your own life when you felt God's divine intervention? I look forward to hearing your story.