Sweet Blessings While Waiting by Donna Mumma

Sweet Blessings While Waiting

by Donna Mumma

“But if we hope for what we do not see, then we eagerly wait for it with perseverance”

(Romans 8:25, NKJV).

My mother’s flower-shaped candy tray featured vibrant, festooned petal impressions to bear treats . The confections always welcomed me when I awoke on holiday mornings. Since we lived on a farm, the family had to wait for our father and brothers to complete the morning milking before any celebrations commenced.  My siblings and I also had to wait for my parents to grant us access to the day’s activities.  This entire process revved my impatient nature into overdrive.

But Mama had a sweet cure. After we had all gone to bed on the big day’s “eve,” she filled her tray with special candy. Holidays exempted us from the normal rules about eating sweets, so I always ate my fill. The sugary diversion gave me something to enjoy while I waited for the featured events to unfold.

Sometimes we need to find sweet diversions in our author’s life as we wait for God’s plan to manifest. Discouragement might tempt us when we observe our peers advance their careers. Others might sign with agents we’d hoped to work with or earn contracts with our dream publishing houses. As fellow writers build successful online platforms, we can grow impatient while struggling to get started.

So what can we do in this season of heartbreak, fading resolve, and waning passion for the craft?

We can enjoy God’s sweet foretastes as we WAIT.

• Welcome improvements to our writing by attending conferences, critique groups and workshops.
• Admit we always have new things to learn. Read books, listen to podcasts, or follow blogs that offer new ideas. As writers, we can study our craft endlessly.
• Investigate new opportunities. Write pieces to strengthen creative muscles, even if they might not lead to publication.
• Trust God’s timing. He has a plan. He wouldn’t have called us to this mission without a purpose. We can prepare for the day when he opens the doors and our writing dreams become God’s reality.

Waiting serves us a sweet gift. Let’s find ways in this stage of our calling to savor blessings as we persevere toward God’s unfolding plan.

Lord, help us to keep hoping as we wait for your will to unfold in our writing lives. May we all persevere as we eagerly await all you have planned for us. Amen.

Donna Mumma perfected storytelling in her first grade classroom, spinning tales exciting enough to settle a roomful of antsy six-year-olds. She loves to blend history, mystery, and faith in her novels, which include Fresh Scars, The Women of Wynton’s, and First Comes Marriage . . . Then Comes Murder.  A native Floridian, she now lives on the Sunshine State’s west coast, sharing life with her family, and her energetic collie, Duke. Connect with her at www.donnamumma.me., Facebook at Donna Mumma, or Instagram at donnamumma_writer.