Detours

When you were young, did you have a dream that seemed so big, so outlandish that you thought it couldn’t possibly come true? Take a moment and think about it. Maybe you did but pushed through and are living it now. But then again, if you’re anything like I was, it could be you set it aside to get on with the business of life and forgot about it, except those dark moments when you wonder how your life could have been different if only…

I wanted to be a writer since I was twelve. Growing up, I loved to read and always had my nose in a book—an introverted nerd. But I dreamt of being a writer. When I went into college, I took every creative writing class I could. I even declared journalism as my major, although that changed with my first Journalism 101 assignment. I didn’t want to write about things that had already happened; I wanted to create fictional characters and plot their lives.

Then I quit school to get married, much to my parents’ disappointment. I still remember the day my mom tried to convince me I was making a mistake.

“You’re throwing your dreams away,” Mom said. She’d been my staunchest supporter of my goal to be a writer, always so quick to defend me when anyone rolled their eyes at my “childish” dreams.

“I’m not throwing them away, they’ve just changed. What’s wrong with wanting to be a wife and mother? It’s what you did.” Which was true to some extent, although Mom worked outside the home from the time I was twelve.

“You’re not me,” she pointed out. “I’m telling you, Jennie, it’ll never be enough for you.”

She was right. Once the kids were in elementary school, I was itching to make something of myself. I volunteered in their classrooms, took charge of running a 4-H club, started a housecleaning business, and still, I was dissatisfied. I thought about writing (and penned my little stories in my spare time) but realized that what I really needed was a career—one that would help pay the bills. So, I went back to school. A 90-minute commute two nights a week and on Saturdays for two years until I earned a bachelor’s degree in psychology and a multi-subject teaching certificate.

If you’d asked me back then if I was following God’s plan for my life, I probably would’ve said, “No.” It’s not like I prayed about these choices before making them. But looking back, I now know that He was really in charge. In his heart a man (or woman) plans his course, but the LORD determines his steps. Proverbs 16:9.

Incident after incident pointed to God’s hand in my life—and how my career as a teacher was such a blessing. Not only did it give me years of experience working with middle school students, it provided me with insurance to survive the financial burden of my daughter’s car accident, and was an anchor when my husband of twenty-two years walked out on me.

And then Chris came into my life. Six months into our relationship, he asked me the pivotal question. “If you were going to do anything for a career besides teach, what would it be?”

I didn’t even hesitate. “I’d be a writer.”

“A writer, huh? Could be you’ll have the opportunity soon.”

We were married seven months later, and the following year, he suggested I heed God’s call and give writing a fair chance. This would not have been possible without his support and encouragement. Proverbs 16:9 has continued to be true for my life.

Last Wednesday began the eight-week launch for my newest novel, Providence, Book 3 in the Apple Hill Series. It’s hard to believe a journey that started almost fifteen years ago is coming to fruition. I think about the day I stood in front of a church filled with mourners, sharing the antics of my brother at his funeral and heard the Lord whisper to my spirit This is your story. Until that moment, I wasn’t sure I had one in me. I thought maybe I was just a wanna-be writer, and Chris’s belief in my dream was for nothing.

My only regret is that Mom didn’t live long enough to see my dreams realized. She passed away from leukemia in 2005. I dedicated my first published novel, Surrendered, to her memory, just as I’m dedicating Providence, to my brother’s, as his suicide was the inspiration for it.

It is never too late to follow the desires the Lord has put on your heart. Missteps may just be detours prepared to shape your character and hone God’s timing.

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