You Are Not Alone
by Sharron K. Cosby
(Lamentations 1:16a, NIV).
My husband, Danny, received a promotion that required relocation to another state. When we rolled into town on January 13th, I knew two people: our realtor and the contractor we hired to build our new home. Danny left for his new job in Mexico the next week. He drew me a map so I could take the children to school. A grocery store was close to our apartment so we wouldn’t starve until he returned.
Loneliness enveloped me. I wanted someone to talk to, laugh with, or to join me for shopping. The comfort I sought evaded me.
We joined a local church and smatterings of the darkness lifted. Although the daily tasks of caring for children, working, and maintaining a home filled my days, a void remained.
In 2009 a friend from church invited me to a writers’ critique group. I wasn’t sure what happened at that kind of meeting, but the idea piqued my curiosity. I visited and joined this coterie of word lovers who partnered with me on my writing journey.
The prophet Jeremiah wept over Jerusalem’s sinful condition. He had no one to comfort him or to restore his broken spirit. His message to the children of Israel garnered no followers. He stood alone in his truth. God’s truth.
Thankfully we aren’t alone. We have other word stringers to stand with us while we scribe the messages God places on our hearts. When we are rejected by a publisher, our group rallies to offer encouragement to dust ourselves off and get back to the keyboard. We celebrate one another’s publication successes like proud aunts and uncles.
When you feel alone on your writing journey, remember there are groups willing and able to nurture you as you hone your craft.
You are not alone.
Father, thank you for placing encouragers along my writing path. To wipe my tears or cheer me to the finish line. May I inspire writers to pen your message. Amen.
Sharron Cosby is a proud Alabama native transplanted in the sands of Florida. Sharron is an award-winning author and loves speaking to groups on her family’s journey through addiction, although she can address other topics. Her book, Praying for Your Addicted Loved One: 90 in 90, is a devotional for families who love an addict. Connect with Sharron at www.SharronCosby.com
Your post struck a chord. I have moved many times. With this last move (hopefully last!) God provided a friend at our new church that shared my writer’s heart. We both write for children and have picked one another up more than once. Without her encouragement I don’t think I’d have a contract for my first book. Thanks for the reminder that God will always—always—give us people to journey with us for his glory.
This is such a good reminder particularly at this time of year where hopes maybe high and they may not all be realized. But no matter what happens with our writing God will never for sake us and he will send us friends to walk with us.