I recently had an
experience that taught me a valuable lesson in patience. Many weeks I had been praying for
direction in my life. I had
reached a point with my newly finished novel (that was edited and re-written
several times over) that I knew it was finally ready to get
published. I prayed for this
guidance to lead me in the right direction on what my next move should be. Through the help of a good friend, my
novel happened to make it’s way to an editor for a publishing company. I waited anxiously for seven weeks to
get the answer that I hoped to get “We love your book and want to publish you!”
Through long
hours of prayer, agonizing over the result of what this editor would say about
my novel and how it would change my life, I was given a feeling of peace and comfort that I was on the path that I
was supposed to be on. I felt like
this feeling of peace was a conformation that this was it. That this editor was the one and that
my book was about to get published.
Alas, it was
not. The editor gave me a sincere
response and informed me that there were some things about my novel that needed
to be re-worked. I struggled for
days on this, confused by the feelings and answers I had received that this was
the one and that my novel was finally done and finished. This was my big moment where everything
would change. I was heartbroken
and lost. Did I read the message
wrong? Were the encouraging and
comforting feelings not real? Did
I make the whole thing up? Maybe I
heard wrong. Maybe everything I
think I know about personal revelation is wrong.
But that was not
the case. I was heartbroken and
lost, yes. And I did the worst
thing in that moment that I could have.
I stopped praying and reading my scriptures. I pushed God away when I really should have pulled him
closer and allowed him to help me understand what had gone wrong.
I probably would
have understood sooner had I not pushed God away. But a week later I finally received my answer. I spoke to my mother who informed me
that maybe the reason that I was supposed to submit my book to this editor was
not because my book was ready to publish, but because this editor had something
important to point out to me about my novel. I listened to the editor’s advice and revised my novel. Through all this, I learned that God
does lead us down the paths we need to follow, but we need to stop and listen
for the purpose for why he took us down that path. The results may not turn out the way we want. We may not even understand at first why
we must do it. But if we stop,
listen, and have a little patience we will understand how that particular thing
fits into his overall plan for us.
Love this! Why is it that we're so quick to push God away when things go according to his plan and not ours? Getting published is all about patience...or so they tell me ;)
ReplyDeleteGreat advice!! Thanks for sharing your experience. Keep your chin up. I'm sure you will get there soon. I can't wait to read it : D
ReplyDeleteIt's Steph Robinson btw....rawsomegrl due to my love of fruit and veggies ...
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