Three Ps: Prayer, Patience, Peace

It’s happened to all of us at one time or another. God’s Spirit whispering to ours in a way that we could so easily dismiss as coincidence or a random thought we conjured up on our own. When I think back to all the pain and heartache I could’ve saved myself if I had only been wise (and faithful) enough to listen, I cringe. The uneasiness over my first husband’s jealousy and insecurity before we said our vows is one example. It proved to be what the enemy later used to disintegrate our marriage. I don’t wallow in regret, however, because the Lord uses everything for our good and His glory. It might just be a longer road to get there. And I wouldn’t have my two beautiful children now otherwise.

But as I’ve grown in my faith-walk, I’ve become a more astute listener. Or maybe I’ve just learned to ask God the right questions. Either way, I see Him working in my life in so many wondrous ways, and it brings me untold joy. I imagine it’s the same for you.

A couple of months ago, I was wrestling with burnout and unsurety. It seemed as if all I did was write and market. If the Lord called me to continue writing stories, shouldn’t it be easier? A rhetorical question, obviously, because is anyone’s ministry easy? The greatest ministry of all time was that of Jesus Christ coming to earth in His humanity to tend to the broken and lost. We all know how that turned out. If it had been easy, would he have sweated blood while praying for God to take the cup from His hand if at all possible?

So, I prayed. And prayed and prayed. What if I chucked it all and spent my days delving into all the hobbies I love so much (and there are a lot of them)? But then how would that honor the Lord? Maybe I was supposed to serve in a different way—whatever that might be. I just needed to hear the Lord’s still small voice encouraging me to continue on the path He’d forged for me until He said differently.

Have you ever had something burden your heart so much, your prayers were like a mantra that echoed in your mind day and night? That’s what it was like. Then I heard the first whisper—use it in your book. Use what? The burnout? Being unsure of what I should be doing? I didn’t know what He meant, but I was certain He’d reveal it soon. I just needed to do continue with the next thing—start on another book.

I had a general idea of the plot, although not nearly enough to jump in. Character personalities and careers are very important to me. And a career that works with the characters personality (or better yet, that creates conflict because of their personality) even better. I knew Lillian Murphy was to be a librarian (like my own daughter), but that’s all I had. How was I supposed to create a 90,000-word book with that?

Then it happened. The Lord did what He is always so faithful to do—He started opening doors. It started with a text from our old neighbors in California. They wanted to know when would be a good time to call and catch up. At first, I feared one of them (or another of our neighbors) was sick. But no, they just wanted to chat. We arranged a time and got on the phone with them.

They mentioned that one of their sons wrote a book called Winning the Week. We didn’t even know what their son’s profession was (although his identical twin brother is an actor we see on television shows all the time). It turns out he’s a productivity expert. Have you ever heard of such a thing? I hadn’t. And the book he and his wife collaborated on was all about scheduling life so there was more time in the week to do the things we enjoy rather than getting bogged down in work. Sounded too good to be true.

While we were still talking, I pulled it up on Amazon. Only .99 cents for the Kindle edition, so I bought it just to support our friends. I didn’t really intend to read it. I had so much work to do before I could start on the novel, there was no time in my schedule. But guess what? The Lord drew me to it anyway. What if I made the male protagonist a productivity expert? He needed a career that would allow him to work from home and do some traveling. So, that’s why I started reading the book—research. But that isn’t what kept me going.

Yes, Luca Giordano (my male protagonist) is going to be a productivity expert, which is the perfect career for a perfectionist personality. Plus, it’ll give him enough rope to figuratively hang himself. But this book has changed my entire outlook on my own work schedule, and it has increased my own productivity immensely. Last week was a busy one—we had two evenings in Nashville, my husband’s birthday, and I had a day-long leadership meeting. Still, I got more writing done in two mornings than in previous weeks over the last year, finished (and wrote a review) for a book I’d been reading, kept up with my marketing responsibilities, and have the book plot mapped out.

For the first time in months, I’m excited about writing. With this new scheduling strategy in place, it seems as if a load has been lifted from my shoulders. I wake with joy instead of panic, and everything is a little brighter. And it all started with prayer. If you need a little help with your productivity (or even knowing how to schedule well), I encourage you to check out this book for yourself. Winning the Week by Demir and Carey Bentley. More importantly, pray the Lord will guide your steps. After all, He already knows where He wants you to journey.

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