Last year I published a book. I have heard many people say that writing a book is like delivering a baby. I will confirm that.
But this baby had a 4-5 year gestation period which is just nuts!
After writing my book and being able to hold the final product in my hand and post it on Amazon for sale, life shifted. Not because I became famous. I have probably only sold a couple hundred copies. Life shifted for me because my story is out there. Anyone can buy it and read it. That changes you somewhere in the deeper places. You really start to wrestle with the question, "Where are you going with all of this God? What am I created to do?" I've been sitting there for awhile now.
In the meantime, however, it's been really fun to sign my name in the front cover of a book I wrote and produced. Yeah, I won't lie. That's cool!
But God brought so many people into my life to help me along the way. The stories are never ending. I had a dear friend do all my editing. (I simply do not know what a comma is for, it turns out.) God brought a book publisher to me through my tennis team. I did a Go Fund Me campaign to raise the money to print my book and people were so generous and excited, I had the money together in 20 days. I was simply blown away!
Those are kind confirmations from a good God when you are still trying to believe you really have anything important to say. But my book is important for many reasons. The main reason is it simply tells the story of my redemption. God has been so good and has done so much for me and my loved ones. How can I not sing his praises and then publish it?
It is also a book about becoming what God intended.
God did not intend me to be gay. He also did not intend me to be repeatedly hurt by controlling men in my life and a theology that oppresses women. God did not intend a lot of things that have happened to me. What He did intend was for me to know I am loved. This has been His goal all along in the midst of all the pain and sadness and trauma. I am loved by God.
So I will start writing again.
I did not burn out after writing my book. It was simply time to do some other things. But now it is time to write again. I have a few book ideas that I am really excited about and in the meantime blogging keeps the water stirred.
Are you allowing God to redeem your story friend?
He is so eager to do that for you. In fact that is his primary goal in your life. Redemption. I encourage you to work with the plan. He is good and I promise it will be a good plan. It may not always feel good. That is a sad reality of living in a fallen world and having an enemy. But God wins and simply asks us to trust Him and follow. May you follow with child like faith today.
