"It's Been a Long, Long Time Coming, but I Know a Change Gonna Come . . ."

Psalm 90:4
A thousand years in your sight are like a day that has just gone by, or like a watch in the night.

This past Friday, I send my signed and notarized book contract for Book One of  The Glade to my publisher.  Not without praying over it first.  Wishing it Godspeed.  And, thanking the Lord for this amazing, incredible opportunity.

One which has been a long time coming . . .

I begin writing my novel in the summer of 2007.  An inexplicable do-or-die, now-or-never urge possesses me.  I accomplish enough and am pleased with the story's direction by the time school starts up again.  Too busy and distracted by teaching, I reluctantly shelve my book until the following summer.

It takes two more summers to complete.  And, the most awe-inspiring part of the whole process?  I am certain, beyond a shadow of a doubt that God, through His Holy Spirit, sits right beside me as I type each word.  Because, as odd as this may sound, I don't write the novel.

Through the Spirit, it writes itself.  I am but the conduit.

And, with a deep conviction in my soul, I know it's good.  It is worthy.  Yet, every agent I seek out is not interested in representing it.  No publisher takes the bait.

Rejections take their toll . . .

"Lord, I don't understand . . . You sat with me every single day I wrote.  Don't You want others to read The Glade?  How long, O Lord, how long?"

I read an article about the importance of writers building a platform.  I decide to begin blogging.  But, I have no schedule.  No direction.  Not really sure of what I'm doing.  Almost losing sight of why . . .

It is the month of May, 2011.  Sipping my morning coffee on our deck, I hear Him . . . Write a daily devotion.

"Me?  Really???  What about my book, Lord?"

Write a daily devotion.

A voice too clear, too insistent, not to obey.  And, I write daily devotions for an entire year.  All the while, growing an audience, gaining new and encouraging friends, and, most importantly, getting to know my God more intimately through His inspiring, comforting, revealing Word.

And, as the days and weeks and months roll by, I begin to see.  I begin to trust.  And, I realize . . .

God's timing is everything.

Because, He knows I have reached the conclusion that this book is not the end all and be all.  Nor the who I am in His eyes.  I'm finally understanding.  It takes time for all the manifold pieces to come together.  The way God desires His plan to unfold.

His plan . . . not mine.  His time . . . not mine.

And, just when I (note the "I") think He must want me to self-publish, He intervenes.  Quickly and decisively.  Out of the blue, three prospective publishers appear on my plate.

I query all three.  One responds.  Accepts.

Miraculously, with only a novel synopsis and the link to my blog.

The blog the Lord required of me.

All those days of waiting dissipate, dissolve like morning mist before rising sun.  This is the now.  This is the moment.

A thousand and one days in the blink of an eye.  His eyes.  His vision.

This is more than enough for me . . .
~
Do you trust in God's timeline for your life?

Will you pray with me?
We can be so impatient, Father, when we think we know what is best for us, our families, and what should happen right here and right now.  Teach us to rest in Your promise that the good work You begin in us will be faithfully completed in Your time and in Your way.  Let us enjoy and revel in every moment of every day, knowing Your grace, love, and mercy are more than enough for us.  Amen.