The last few weeks have been a hodgepodge of moments all adding up to one conclusion.
First, the spring equinox (although here in Colorado we can still get snow for a couple more months). A new coat of paint on the house so everything looks fresh. Wrapping up all the numbers (and taxes) from the first quarter. Easter. Leaves on our tree (ahead of everyone else on the block!). And working on book 3 in my upcoming series.
All of it adds up to one thing: Spring.
And the clear reminder of the first short story I wrote. Well, the first story after high school and college English class assignments at least.
This happened a long, long time ago. As in a few decades ago. Back when Princess was in preschool (she’s 29 now) and I was still getting used to her recent genetic diagnosis and all the various side-effects.
Like self-injuring behavior. Out of the blue. For no apparent reason.
I remember it had been a hard day (for those above reasons) and I was feeling like life was always going to be like the middle of a storm. I still remember driving down our block and seeing the lingering snow piles from a recent storm… piles that were a dirty grey now.
Bleak. Dim. Weary. Hopeless.
Then while stopped at a light, I saw it. By the side of the road was a splash of color breaking through. The first of the spring blooms reaching for the sky despite the circumstances.
And just like that I began to feel hope.
This season wouldn’t last forever. There were bright moments to celebrate. And God was still at work in my life and in hers.
When I got home, I pulled out a notebook and started writing for the first time. For fun. To capture the emotions of what God had given me.
“A Cry For Spring” is what I called that short story. And fast forwarding a few years, I wove the gist of it into my first attempt at a novel. That novel was rewritten into a women’s fiction story that landed on the shelf for a few years while I wrote other stories.
Then came 2014 and I scavenged a plotline from the women’s fiction attempt to create a short novel Serving Up Love…which won the Genesis contest that fall. That opened the door for a publishing contract for a different story. Then a different series at a dinner theater. Then my crazy castle series idea.
But that original idea–and the heart behind it–never left.
Sometimes life is hard, but God is still good. He still offers hope to the weary. And that hope is what carries us through the storms.
After all: “We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure.” ~ Hebrews 6:19a
I’ve thought a LOT about hope over the years. Which is why the Cafe on Hope and Main is dear to my heart and I’m working hard to get it right instead of rushing (like I’m SO tempted to do!)
Book One – Where Hope Begins – is in the hands of my ARC team as I pre-plan the launch. Book Two – Where Promises Endure – is headed to my (new) editor. (Please pray there aren’t delays like before!) And Book Three – Where Love Abides – is in the first draft stage with about a quarter of it written so far.
And spoiler alert: chapter two is a callback to that early short story and my life with a screaming preschool Princess.
I guess God truly never wastes a moment.
What about you? Are you in a stormy season looking for hope? What signs do you see that God is at work? Have you ever given up on a dream (or story) only to have it resurface years later?
