Thy Word:

“Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you. But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind.” James 1:2-6 NIV

My Thoughts:

Did you see that? The word trials in the above verse is plural. Meaning trials might come in pairs or more!! {Groan!} I confess joy is not my initial-if ever-reaction for one trial, let alone multiple trials! 

On my last blog, Training in the Trenches (https://tinyurl.com/y4hhhz6d), I filled you in on the trials and tribulations I faced for the last three years. I was strong and hopeful at first, but as the trials piled on, I began to fall apart on the inside, so I cried out to God. 

I did not pitch a fit…, okay, okay, maybe I did here and there! But God can manage our questions and even our laments! However, God also wants us to get it off our chest then remember he is God. God can (and will!) use our brokenness and trials for our benefit and his glory. God is our foundation in times of trials. 

“He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire; he set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand.” Psalms 40:2 NIV

You see, learning to have joy in the trenches really does take training (reading God’s word) and prayer. Repetitive prayers and reading God’s word strengthens us and eventually brings us to a solid foundation of joy. 

In addition, God has ongoing plans for us and sitting in the pit crying and feeling sorry for ourselves is not on his agenda! 

So up out of the pit I came, and as I trudged through the trials, I got back to work writing a specific story the Lord asked me to write long ago. I started the story at God’s initial calling, but the more I got into it, the more difficult it became. I cried out to God and begged him to give me something else to do, but his will for me to continue remained steadfast. {Sigh}

Although I did continue to write, I was not motivated, because I was tired from the battles, and I was lonely. You see, my husband had gone back to work after he learned he was in remission from cancer, which was absolutely a joyous occasion! But he had been my only ‘in person’ friend for almost three years! 

Prior to Covid and cancer I met people here when we moved to our new city, but they were so new those relationships fizzled during the long isolation period of Covid and cancer.

(Disclaimer: this is NOT a judgment on anyone! The entire world was recovering and readjusting after a long and traumatizing pandemic! We were all trying to find our new normal and figure out how to proceed when it was finally safe!)

So, I prayed to God asking for a friend. 

“Turn to me and be gracious to me, for I am lonely and afflicted.” Psalms 25:16 NIV

Don’t get me wrong, I still have friends from my old city who are dear to my heart, and precious siblings too, but most are not local or are working (I am retired). I desired a friend who was local, someone to have lunch or coffee with who was nearby and also retired.

Once I prayed, I knew sitting home alone in my chair would get me nowhere and only hinder God’s work, so I joined a new women’s Bible study at church, and it was there I met Janie. She was seated in front of me and when she turned to introduce herself and smiled, I knew in my heart she was a gift from the Lord.

As our friendship began to blossom, I eventually confessed I was not being obedient to God’s calling. To my surprise, she did not just say pleasant things and change the topic, she offered to walk with me to the completion of my project. 

I have had encouragement to author this book from other friends, but there was something about this time that felt different. The work began and with Janie and my sister Terry’s encouragement, I produced and gave them chapters as accountability, until I finally reached a coveted milestone in every writer’s journey: typing The End. 

Despite being a clumsy person, and not exactly in touch with my own limbs, I danced around the room! I am sure if my neighbors had witnessed this event though my windows, they would have been tempted to call 9-1-1 believing I was either being chased by a bee or having some sort of serious medical episode! I did not care!!

Following this lapse in decorum, I dropped to my knees and thanked God for all His provisions. I know beyond the shadow of a doubt God called me to author this novel, and he gave me the story and the words to write. When (not if, but when!) it is published it will be to the Lord’s credit and not mine. 

If you are an author, or know an author, “The End” is really the beginning of more work to get published. It is worth it! I am excited despite knowing it could be six months to a year before it happens.

My goal is to publish this book through a traditional publicist, and not self-publish. For this to happen, I need followers and I hope you, dear readers, will help me accomplish this goal when my author website is up and running. My intent is not to inundate you with spam or share your personal information, but to keep you updated with the progress of my book. A publisher will want to know if I have followers (a lot of followers!) to launch this book prior to publication. 

In addition, to updates, I plan to offer incentives and gifts as we wait for my book to be published. So, when the website is finished, I hope you, and all your friends 😃, will follow me. 

I am sure by now you would like more information about my novel. 

The name of my manuscript (it is not a book until it is published) is “Broken Ten.” It is a Christian fiction about a woman named Lydia who painstakingly fashions a tidy life to hide her sinful past, only to find God prompting her to reveal those secrets so she can offer hope to a group of desperate women. 

When Lydia hears about these women, who are incarcerated, she has no interest in helping them as her own father was an abuser and eventually killed the woman who helped her family escape his cruelty. 

Stay tuned to learn more! 

Once my website is up, I will share snippets of “Broken Ten” and throughout the process will also offer a drawing for my previous book, “Going Home.” 

Thank you for following along and I look forward to keeping you updated! 

Prayer: 

“Listen to my prayer, O God. Pay attention to my plea.” Psalms 54:2 NLT

Father God, I ask for your favor with this labor of love I finally finished. I pray you open the doors until “Broken Ten” is published and after reading, I pray lives are impacted to the glory of God. I pray this in the name of Jesus. Amen!