About 18 months ago I received an email from a woman asking me if my books were available on audio. I told her I wished they were but that I probably wouldn’t be ready for that career step for at least 6 months. Her follow up email spoke of how one of her daughters had been in a car accident and could no longer read but loved to listen to books. And just by chance she had another daughter, Margaret, who was an audiobook producer – in case I wanted to speak to her. Simply to be kind I said I would be happy to speak to Margaret. I was completely sure nothing would come of this conversation. God rarely threw me such an easy pitch; crazy curve balls were more the way things worked for me. But I suppose if you are used to curve balls, then a slow one right across the plate can be almost as confusing 😊
Before I got on the phone with Margaret, I was trying to think of a way of saying thank you but no thank you. As soon as I heard her voice, my thoughts changed to how soon can you start recording! She and I have now been working together for the last 18 months and 4 books (hopefully Into the Embers will be out on Audio in December). It also led to an invitation to come out and speak to the Legatus Chapter in Portland, Oregon. I went to Portland last week and had the privilege of staying with Margaret and her family. I was able to meet her mom, two sisters, her dad, husband, baby, a niece, and a nephew. I was surrounded by a loving family and I relished every minute of it.
As I look at the patterns in my life, I realize that often the best things come when I very least expect them. It’s not that I’m doing nothing – on the contrary, I’m prepared and open to what God wants to hand me, but I’m not feverishly grasping. The night I met my husband I had no thoughts of meeting anyone. In fact, I had sworn off men (probably only for like a week…but still). Writing is the same. The Light was definitely not something I was grasping for, it wasn’t even a thought. To continue the baseball analogy, it was God placing the ball on a tee and holding my wobbly hands as I reluctantly and nervously tried to hit the stationary ball.
These experiences and many others have taught me that it’s okay to grasp at things you can’t quite reach and swing at pitches that might be a bit too fast for you, but it’s best to allow God to throw that slow straightforward pitch every once in a while.
The day after I returned from Oregon, I launched Out of the Darkness (one week ago today). It has done so well, and I am so grateful. This book took me longer to write than any other book. During that time, I was very often swinging furiously into the air at a variety of targets that never came to be. Now that it is published, I can feel the sense of relief and ease. All I need to do now is hold onto that peace as I go through the rest of my day, week, years! Truth be told, I’m sure I’ll be swinging furiously in another week or so and God will be watching me thinking “I swear I made her better than this.” Maybe then I’ll re-read this blog post and remind myself to simply be calm, write, and be prepared for whatever God has planned.
Jacqueline
Portland has an amazing shrine called The Grotto. These are some pictures. And Out of the Darkness, the #1 new release in Christian Futuristic Fiction, will have a price increase next week so please get your copy now.
