Thursday, December 3, 2015

God’s Still Working in Your Writing by Susan Tuttle

It’s Christmas time, which means the Christmas story is playing on televisions, homes, and churches all around the nation. I love the Christmas story, and each year I read it like I’m hearing it for the first time all over again. In the past Mary is the character to captivate me, but as I sat in church this past Sunday it was Elizabeth who caused me to stop.

See, Elizabeth had been waiting a long time for God to show up with her dream in His hand. In fact, in practically every way it looked as if her dream to become a mom had died. She was barren, empty, and by all accounts she and Zechariah were past their primes. The idea of her becoming pregnant ranked right up there with her ability to fly—it wouldn’t, couldn’t, happen.

Yet God.

Aren’t those two beautiful words?

Yet God had a different plan. Sometimes for His plan to gleam brightest everything around us must die. See, God will allow His glory to shine through us, but he will never—never—share it, and if the only way that can happen is to let our dream become a virtual impossibility, he will do just that. Not to discourage us. Not to make us lose faith. And not to harm us. Only so that everything points to Him when our dream becomes solid reality.

Isn’t this like our writing world? Maybe it’s the idea of finding time to finish your story. Perhaps you’re too dry to come up with new words. Possibly you’re waiting for a “yes” from a publishing industry that seems stuck on “no”. Whatever it is, could it be that God is allowing the parts of your dream to die that may point to you rather than Him when that dream finally materializes?

Dear friend, whatever you do, don’t lose grip on your faith. If God has made a promise to you about this writing ministry, cling to it. He is ever faithful—you only need to look at the many facets of the Christmas story to see that faithfulness repeated over and over again.

Merry Christmas friends!
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Susan Tuttle
Susan Tuttle is a homeschooling mom of three who is crazy about coffee, dark chocolate, and words—both reading and writing them. Combine that love of words with her passion for leading women to a life-changing encounter with Christ, and you’ll find her crafting Inspirational Contemporary Romance stories laced with humor, love, and healing transformations. When not cheering on her Ironman hubby, chasing the family dog, or tackling complex math problems to teach her kids (yes, even the third grader), you can catch Susan at her blog, Steps.