Ever have one of those weeks where nothing goes quite as you planned? That was my week last week. My plan was: 1) finish up Not Until You and get it out to advance readers, 2) visit a school (since I also write children's nonfiction, I often visit schools to talk about writing, which I love doing!), 3) celebrate accomplishing 1 and 2.
What actually happened looked more like: 1) have a sick kiddo, 2) get sick myself, 3) visit school as planned but lose voice from talking all day with a cold, 4) feel disappointed that I didn't finish Not Until You and it didn't get out to advance readers.
Ugh. I have to admit, I do not deal well when my plans don't work out the way I want them to. But I do love the way God uses things like this to remind us that he's in control in all things--and we aren't (thank goodness . . . think what a mess we'd make of things if we were).
It's why we need verses like James 4:13-15: Now listen, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.” Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. Instead, you ought to say, “If it is the Lord’s will, we will live and do this or that.”
As a planner, this can be hard for me to hear. I want to figure out what I'm going to do tomorrow, and when tomorrow comes, I want to do it. But that's not how it works. Our role on this earth is to serve the Lord, not to dictate to him what we want to happen in our lives and when. God used this week to remind me that my writing isn't about me, and it isn't about checking off to-do lists. It's about serving God with the gifts he has given me. It's about saying, "God, you're in control and I pray that you'll use me for your kingdom in whatever way you know is best."
Until next time, may you wait patiently on God's will in your life.
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