Direct My Writing Paths

Direct My Writing Paths

by Crystal Bowman

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding;
in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight”

(Proverbs 3:5-6, NIV).

 

Fresh out of college, with a math/science degree in education, I pouted as I drove into the parking lot of Little Angel’s Nursery School. Teaching preschoolers was not what I had in mind while challenging my brain in calculus and chemistry classes. But it was the only job I could get. At twenty-two years old, it was the first time I questioned God.

Twenty years later, I finally realized God’s divine direction in my life. Those years of teaching preschool provided the foundation for my calling as a children’s writer. God knew what he was doing, even though I didn’t see it at the time.

As opportunities for writing come and go, as doors open and close, as contracts and rejections fill my inbox, I have learned to trust God while letting him direct my writing paths. Of course, we need to let God direct every area of our lives, but writing and publishing are unpredictable and constantly changing. I’m thankful God is in control.

Submitting to God’s direction in my writing life allows me to have peace. If I receive a contract, I praise God. If I don’t, I praise God anyway. And sometimes a manuscript is used in a different way than I had intended.

When we look at Scripture, we see how God directs the lives of his people. God told Abram to leave his home and “go to the land I will show you” (Genesis 12:1, NIV). If that were me, I’d like a few more details. But Abram left his home and allowed God to direct his paths.

Joseph was thrown into a pit by his jealous brothers and later sold to Egyptian traders. While he was in the pit, I doubt he imagined being Pharaoh’s right-hand man in the land of Egypt.

When Mary was engaged to Joseph, she didn’t plan to have a baby out of wedlock, let alone give birth to the Messiah. But when God directs our paths and we submit to him, he does amazing things in our lives.

Submitting to God’s direction in our writing will keep us on the right writing path, and that’s the best place to be.

God, I thank you that you are in control of all things. Help me to submit to you in my writing as well as every area of my life. Amen.

 

 

 

Crystal Bowman is a bestselling, award-winning author of more than 100 books for children, four nonfiction books for women, and contributor to numerous compilations books. She is also a speaker, lyricist, freelance editor, and a regular contributor to Clubhouse Jr. Magazine. She and her husband enjoy seven huggable grandkids.
www.crystalbowman.com