Clear Steps
by Faye Wilson Walton
“We can make our plans, but the LORD determines our steps”
(Proverbs 16:9, NLT).
I have an issue. I love to make plans, but I also hate to make them because inevitably God determines my steps. As I write this piece, this inner battle rages within me. I face the back end of my two-month summer break from work. During my vacation, I’d planned to make significant progress on my novel, The Unknown Beautiful Missing Piece. I also intended to work on more essays and devotions.
For the first two weeks of my break, my plan worked. I reveled in pounding keys and slinging ink before dawn. I fine-tuned the first eight chapters of my novel and jotted down ideas for an inspiring devotion for an upcoming Word Weavers meeting.
Then everything came to a screeching halt.
I experienced awful allergies. I sneezed, coughed, drank fluids, inhaled steroid nasal sprays, popped antibiotics and antihistamines, and slept for hours. Discouragement overwhelmed me. Although I started out with plenty of time to write, I got sick. I soon despised my plans.
Thankfully, I’m past the pollen haze of allergic reactions. I hope to inspire fellow authors to keep writing no matter what, even if feeling sick.
God knows our heart’s desires, our unrelenting passion to write the stories inside of us. He will not allow the righteous to be forsaken or to stray from the wonderful plans he has for us. He will direct our steps and give us clarity in every step of our writing journey.
My renewed focus has allowed me to move forward in my novel and to set a goal to publish it by early fall. At least, that’s the plan. For now.
Dear Lord, I’m grateful that you’ve given me the ability to be creative for your glory. Despite my goals, I know you have plans to prosper and not to harm me, to give me a hope and a future (Jeremiah 29:11). Thank you for giving me the passion and heart to write. Please strengthen me when I am weak. Please give me wisdom when I feel sick and stuck. In your name, I pray. Amen.
Faye Wilson Walton is the author of Wise Turned Foolish and Writing Soul Mates. She lives with her husband David in Knoxville, TN. You can follow her on Facebook and at https://fayesrawkinpen.blogspot.com/