These are the Days to be Thankful

Kristen here. This fall, I had the opportunity to attend the Florida Christian Writer’s Conference for a day. It was the first time since my young son was eleven months old that I’d been away from him for a whole day. Getting to spend time with fellow writer friends, talk with my agent, and learn from workshops was energizing and refreshing, but one of my biggest takeaways from the day came from a small craft sign in the dining room. It read, “I still remember the days I prayed for the things I have now.”

Wow, I sure do. I remember attending my first writer’s conference not knowing anyone or much of anything. I remember navigating rejections on the path to publication and wondering when God would lead me to the right agent who could represent me. How He did all those things was not how I imagined.

In my personal life, I remember the years I prayed for a godly husband, and then later, how long I prayed for God to give us a child. Those were lonely days, and I didn’t know when or how God would provide. Once again, He showed up in ways I least expected. I met my husband at a church event washing cars for single moms, and three years after we married, God surprised us with a positive pregnancy test just weeks before Christmas (best Christmas present ever)!

As a writer, I find myself too often wanting to control the plot line of my own story, not just my fiction ones. I tell God, "I’d like to do it this way, please." Experience has taught me that God rarely works the way we expect or understand. Sometimes, His ways seem harder, but I trust that they are always better. Isaiah 55:8-9 says, "'For My thoughts are not your thoughts, Nor are your ways My ways,' says the Lord. 'For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are My ways higher than your ways, And My thoughts than your thoughts'" (NKJV).

Next March, my ninth novel Watch Your Back releases, and it was the hardest story for me to write because I was also working online while taking care of my young son. But God showed up and helped me persevere, and I am so excited for how He is going to use Avery’s and Ethan’s story to bless and encourage my readers. (You’re welcome to join my newsletter to learn more about this story as its release approaches.)

As we enter the Thanksgiving season, what are some things you have now that were once but prayers, or what is something you’re trusting God to provide in His best way? Leave a comment along with your email address and let me know! I’ll enter you into a drawing for a Kindle copy of Take My Hand, the first book in my Crossroads Suspense series.