Several
people have asked me, “So, what took so long to get this book out to the
public?” If
I’m being honest, the answer simply put is, “Life.”
In
November 2015, I solicited a request for 12 women to write a reflection about
their faith for a specific project that the Lord dropped into my spirit in the
wee hours of the morning. I knew all of the women would not respond, but I knew
who God led me to for this assignment. It was really an act of obedience. When
it came down to it, only six women responded; I was the seventh. Since seven
represents the biblical sign of completion, I was fine with that. I took it as
a sign from God that a complete work would be done at the end of this project.
And, then, life happened.
The
first time I tried to compile the stories, the document didn’t save…at
all. I had to start over. I was
frustrated and took my time getting back to the document. When I started on it
for the second time it worked, but it was very time consuming and complicated
to copy from one application to another. What I thought would be a simple
process wasn’t simple at all. Sometimes I had to retype certain paragraphs
because they wouldn’t copy the right way. Then my job got hectic and I couldn’t
commit the time because I was exhausted when I got home in the evenings. When
the job got unbearable, I had to put all of my energy into getting a new
one. That’s when distraction truly set
in. Also, I was supposed to be completing my doctoral degree. I couldn’t fathom
doing two very different types of writing at the same time. Research writing and nonfiction writing are
very complex all on their own. My brain
would have been stretched entirely too far to imagine, especially when I was
also having to shift my mind into an editing mode. While I would love to
believe that it was all about external factors, it was just as much about the
internal struggle within me.
Over
the last three years, something has shifted in me. I went from being academic
minded to being ministry minded. Not to
say a person can’t be both, I just
couldn’t do or be both. I’d changed. I’d grown differently. My ambitions for
the marketplace shifted into discipleship. God's call on my life is priority. So, I made a choice...a choice most people might not understand. It was an act of obedience to surrender the old me to who God has called me to be in my kingdom assignment.
I can honestly say
that I am on my path to purpose. God knew it all along. It feels real. It feels right. It feels
ordained. It’s freeing. It was necessary.
I
am grateful for the women who stuck with me all the way until completion. They
trusted the Word that God gave me – this book would help women all over the
world…because OUR testimonies are worth sharing. We invite you to read our faith
stories. We invite you into an intimate part of our lives.
Philippians 1:6 New International Version (NIV)
6 being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.
