a faith-filled journey

Yesterday I thought about my publishing journey and how it could inspire other busy parents like me to step into their own calling. We all know doors open and close, but it's about a life of faith, trusting the Lord every step of the way. He knows each of us better than we even know ourselves. He leads when we look to him and wait on him. He is the God who provides people, resources, and the means to accomplish his will in and through us.

I began writing my original manuscript in Alabama, immediately following our kid's adoption. (That was a giant act of faith, a long story in and of itself.) When they laid down for naps, I would pull out my husband's old, heavy laptop to write my childhood memories on a Word doc. At the time, I did not envision a future book. I simply felt a pull toward writing down my early recollections. Two shifts in my life awakened an awareness inside me to begin.  

The first, and obvious, was taking in our foster kids. Watching a 2 & 3 yr old experience what was to them an abrupt uprooting and transplanting into our home did something to awaken that need to write of strangely similar experiences I'd had in my long lost past. 

The second was a basic biography I'd completed on my parents' upbringing and how God intervened in their lives. I enjoyed asking them questions and finding pictures to insert into each chapter. I wrote with my son in mind. He was five years old. I wanted to give him something to enjoy reading on his own so he could learn about who his grandparents were and the godly heritage they were passing down. That was a fun project, and it led me to want more history, this time, my own. I had a story too, but it lay dormant deep inside me. 

But then my laptop died. I quickly found a tech guy who retrieved all our files off the hard drive for a small fee. We bought a new laptop. 

Orders arrived, and I continued writing after we moved to California's central coast. My page count increased under the title: "New Beginnings." I began looking into various writing opportunities. I had an idea for a children's book and talked it over with a hybrid publisher. That fizzled. I wasn't ready to go that route. I submitted pieces for fun competitions, expecting to hear I'd won or perhaps recognized in some way. The prizes were simple, but I never won anything. I merged into the Instagram world, and found Christian writers who invited followers to submit short, inspirational pieces. A couple of them liked what I had to offer. I was hooked. Soon, I was invited to join a writing team. It was perfect and just what I needed to begin the art of crafting words for the benefit of readers. 

Upon relocating to Colorado Springs, my new-ish laptop began acting up. I needed a smaller one anyway. For a birthday gift, my hubby got me my current one. I love it. It's thin, light-weight, and easy to toss in my purse on my way out the door to drop off a kid or two and write while waiting in my car or run to the nearest Starbucks while they're in extra-curricular classes.  

Life was good until it was not. Cancer struck. But just before Brian's diagnosis, I'd reached out to an editor with my interest in her coaching services. Cancer hit hard, but my amazing husband still encouraged me to pursue my own interests. He did not think the cost to hire a professional was too much and compared it to what we had paid to build a personal gym during the pandemic. If it was as important to me as keeping physically strong was to him, then I should go for it. So I did. It was another major step of faith. The Lord used my hubby to propel me forward, even though he had every right to ask me to wait and focus on him in his time of need. I know I would have dropped my project in a heartbeat. In my mind, it was easy to dismiss due to what we were facing in real-time. 

I had a lovely dinner date with Alice. I set aside our personal crisis and asked the Lord to lead me in the new, uncharted territory. I had a 50k word count manuscript I had no idea would have to be chopped up, dissected, revised, and edited to the max before considering any publishing options. Turns out, I loved the editing/coaching process. It carried my mind to far-off places in my writing journey while walking beside my hubby and his vital treatment. I physically took on the inevitable caregiver fatigue, but writing helped relieve some of that. I never dreamed the missing part of my story was what I was living through. Cancer taught me things I inserted into my manuscript as we continued living our lives with purpose. It also slowed down my pace when I wrapped up editing services with my second editor, recommended by the first. 

I did not know how much I needed more time to hone in on themes in my book. But I had the sense that there was no rush; I could give myself space to polish things up and when the time was right to publish, I would know. God led me to reach out to the right people who proofread and pointed out things I'd overlooked. My final chapter then came into view and I rewrote a more satisfying ending. 

That basically sums it up. The faith walk may feel like the hardest walk, but it gives perspective we'd never have otherwise.