RUN OR OBEY?

Have you ever said, “I would love to write a book but . . . ” and left the sentence unfinished? How you fill in that blank is nothing more than an excuse. Whether it is a lack of time, energy, expertise, idea, or determination, you are running from the calling God has put on your heart. For so many years I argued with the Lord about this very thing, feeling that pull yet knowing in practical terms there weren’t enough hours in the day to stretch myself any thinner. So finally I threw out a fleece to Him: if You truly desire to use me in this way, then help me rearrange my priorities to find the time to embark on this venture. And you know what? He did!

With the move to Oklahoma three years ago, I found myself at a temporary loss of what to do with my time. Yes, we’d moved to be closer to our families, in particular our kids and grandkids, and I certainly spent many blissful hours doing precisely that. Building our business from the ground up also proved to be a challenge but an exciting one I enjoyed joining my husband to create. But I needed more than simply the role of wife and mother to be fulfilled.

“Oh, yes, that writing thing . . . well, maybe I’d better give that a shot.” The phrase became a daily reminder until it formed a lump in my stomach. How to undo that knot? Uh, write??

And write I did! See any relation in this? “He did . . . I did.” Our God never wastes anything and in His economy, He pushed me relentlessly to put my money where my mouth was. So I took a deep breath and began on a writing regime designed to complete a novel that was about half done at that point. In one of the first key steps, He led me to a primary source that turned into one of the most amazing gifts He’s given me in this long process. Not only did I get the historic facts confirmed and realigned, out of that and the friendship I formed with this person I discovered numerous additional plot threads I’d never considered before. In turn, I became so energized and excited about the characters and events in my story, they became more real to me and, I hope, to my readers. Amazing how God works!

You may ask what the turning point was, what one thing led to the unleashing of my potential as a writer? I can respond immediately with one key word: obedience. When I finally laid aside my own expectations and plans and concentrated on the one God apparently had for me, He is the one who set loose all that potential. I simply sat and wrote while He did all the work. And the result is a completed novel which I hope will bring Him honor, as well as the Kiowa people whose story it is. Now, once more it is up to Him. As my husband says about homebuilding: I am responsible for production but it is up to God to do the marketing!

It is my sincere hope and dream that soon From Now Until Forever will be available on Christian bookshelves everywhere!