I’ve been drinking from Hope*writer’s fire hose of info since I joined, and yesterday I felt like King Josiah who just discovered the Book of the Law and realized he had been doing everything wrong. After I reread my proposal and found a typo within the first paragraph, I was ready to tear my sweater. After refining my message, my reader and my book’s benefit, I’m no longer sure the proposal is accurate or compelling. My blog has no clear focus, lead magnet or email subscriptions. In short, when I started Hope*writers, I thought I was a stage 4 writer, poised to pursue agents and editors with my completed memoir. But on closer inspection, I’m more like a stage 2 writer, a King Josiah who must clean out everything that doesn’t fit God’s plan for his people.

But if part of my message is that God is sovereign, and has been watching over me, leading me towards him and his plan for my life from past to present, then why should I despair? I’m an older writer, but I needed a lifetime of experience in order to show not tell the truth of his love and protection. I needed time to name my shame in order to experience God’s freedom and grace. More practically, I needed to develop my craft as a writer, so when it was time to tell the story of his redemption, I was prepared to do so.
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When I sat down to write this, I felt like there were so many boulders in my road, it was impossible to make any forward progress. But the key thing I’ve swallowed from the HW fire hose, is to take one small step at a time, and go at my own pace. One of the first Hope*writer comments I read was by, Katie Emmanuel who said, “Do not despise the era in which the Lord has chosen to make you an influence.” Perhaps like King Josiah, I needed to see what was so wrong before I could make it right. And perhaps like the entire Christian experience, I needed to do that in community. Thank you Hope*writers for being that community.