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| Melinda Viergever Inman |
The
Detour
There I was, cruising down the writing road, pursuing my
dream. Life was grand! I was a blogger; I had some pieces published. Of several
drafted novels, my first was on its way to publication. I was one happy woman!
At last I was a professional writer.
But during the publishing process, I hit a bump in the road.
My husband’s mother declined during a long illness and died. We were weary and
saddened, but after her memorial service, we returned to work.
By the deadline, I submitted my novel to my publisher, and
then I started into my next project. But I gradually recognized that I was
wiped out. I’d never felt this way before—thoroughly depleted, incapable of
working. Clearly, I needed a vacation.
It was time for a detour. I scheduled a week off.
My throat hurt; my body ached. My energy was gone. The week
turned into two and then three. In our hammock, I read fiction by other
authors. I spent entire days in bed. Unable to function, I blogged from a
horizontal position.
Next I had to drop all my outside duties, positions, and even
my seminary track. Finally, after six weeks of this unscheduled detour, I
headed to the doctor, unwittingly whirling a revolving door leading to few
answers and many tests. My novel was published during this crushing fatigue and
malaise.
More than a year passed. While working flat on my back, I
marketed my first novel, ran a successful Kickstarter campaign, and prepped my
second novel. But after passing it to my editor, I felt worse than ever, and
now my parents were sick.
The writing road was supposed to be a smooth highway of
bliss and tranquility.
I would bask in the glow of hundreds of reviews. My
publisher would assign me a marketing team, so I could write and enjoy the
profit from my labors. The many stories in my head would be printed. With the
profits, I’d take my entire family on a long vacation.
But that didn’t happen.
Instead, the detour narrowed to a perilous track through
unmarked wilds. Recently, I received a diagnosis. My immune system is damaged.
I have a rare autoimmune disorder. There’s no cure, only treatment to halt the
progress.
When I learned the number of years and severity of treatment
required, I knew this wasn’t a detour. This is now my life.
How did this happen? I write for the Lord. My stories touch
hearts and lives. God intervenes with plot ideas, dialogue, and insight, so I
can reveal truth about His love seamlessly within the story. I want to get back
to that important work.
Like you, I proclaim Christ in my fiction and other writing,
strenuously contending “with all the energy Christ so powerfully works in me”
(Colossians 1:29).
So why would God allow sickness to touch me? Because He’s
sovereign, He’s good, and He knows best what provokes growth in me. He
orchestrates everything for my spiritual benefit and the advancement of His
Kingdom.
This isn’t some strange journey taking me off-track from
God’s call on my life. This is God’s
call on my life. The detour is the
road.
I’ve kept trying to get at least one foot back onto the
smooth thoroughfare, but the Shepherd has chosen a better route, the road of
refinement and greater reliance on Him. It’s an intimate trail. There’s room
for two. I’ll trust His leading as I journey through treatment while my next
novel awaits publication. I’ll work, as I’m able and He leads.
Many of you travel this road. Creative people—Laura Story, Vaneetha
Rendall, Laura
Hillenbrand—often journey on this byway. God uses it for our good.
What
has the Lord taught you in your “detour”?
Love
takes action: The Creator God establishes the cosmos and shapes a man. Adam
rises from the dust. Envious, the powerful angel Lucifer despises him.
Oblivious to the threat, Adam is captivated by his strong, intuitive wife Eve.
In the Garden of Eden, they enjoy abundant food, gorgeous vistas, and
intriguing challenges, including their budding love and passion. They have it
all!
But
Lucifer’s deceptive brilliance tricks them into disobeying God. They eat the
one forbidden fruit. Their innocence is shattered. Their unity with one another
and with God is destroyed. Death will follow. Lucifer’s jealousy threatens
mankind’s tenuous beginning. But God is merciful. What astonishing promise does
He make? How will Adam and Eve survive – broken, shattered, and separated from God?
Melinda Viergever Inman was
raised in the tornado capital of the U.S. - Wakita, Oklahoma, of
"Twister" fame. There her parents met. There her roots were sunk in a
storytelling family. During years of relocation, tragedy struck. Wounded and
heartbroken, Melinda forsook her roots and ran from herself and from God. A
journey of trial and heartache brought her home again. A prodigal now returned
to her secure foundation, she writes with passion, illustrating God's love for
wounded people as he makes beauty from ashes. Fallen is her second novel, Refuge
her first. Melinda shepherds women in church and prison ministry and writes
inspirational material on her biweekly blog at http://melindainman.com/blog/ . With
her family she is involved with Mission India, rescuing orphans and providing
theological and job training for impoverished students— http://rimi.org/.
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