Since I began writing novels last June, I've had an image in my mind that won't seem to go away. It's that of a smooth lake. The water is quiet and still, there is no wind to make waves. It is peaceful, but one day someone comes along and picks up a pebble from the shore. They toss it into the water and where it hits, ripples emerge, breaking the smooth, calm surface. Shortly after, another person comes by and throws in another pebble, causing the same reaction, and so forth and so on.
I see that lake and those ripples as a testament to my life now. On the outside I seemed happy in my quiet, still life, and I wasn't searching for anything more. I thought I was content in my stillness, until that one day when someone unknowingly tossed a small pebble and disturbed that smooth surface, and now those glorious ripples that formed will affect my life for years to come.
You see, each one of those pebbles represent a person God put into my path to urge me to move beyond the contentment I thought I comfortable with. They caused me to think outside of what I was capable of on my own and showed me what I was capable of once I let God use me.
That first pebble hit four years ago. It was a co-worker named Sydney. We got to know each other working side by side as school nurses and formed a lasting friendship. She eventually moved away, but we stayed in touch throughout the years. Little did I know at the time I met her, that she would eventually become one of people that made my writing career possible. When God gave me my knew calling, Sydney was the person He laid on my heart to reach out to first. She was no longer working and it soon became evident that she was to be my sounding board for ideas, my strongest supporter, and amazingly, my editor.
The next pebble to break through the stillness of my life was a kind hearted woman named Susan. We knew each other in passing from high school, but an encounter many years later made us best friends. Out of the blue, she suggested that we do a Bible study together. She had purchased several of them years before, but had never found the right time to do any of them. Now, what you need to know is that I had been out of church for over ten years and here was this woman wanting me to do a Bible study. If that wasn't divine intervention, then I don't know what is. God used my sweet friend to lead me back to Him and because of that Bible study my family and I joined a church, and I began to have a true relationship with Jesus Christ. This was also the time when I began to pray for God to use me however He saw fit. One year, and one sweaty run later, the story behind Katie's Glimpse came to me in a dream.
Fast forward six months. I was working my school nurse job and trying to write in the evenings and on weekends. It was a very hectic and stressful time for both me and my family. My husband and I prayed and felt it was time for me to pursue writing as a career. I quit my job and began to focus on my book. As the days passed, I began to pray for income to help us pay our bills even though I was now unemployed. I didn't know where it would come from, but I had faith that God would provide. And provide He did.
The next pebble to hit was a woman named Laurie that I knew from high school. We had been friends, but hadn't spoken in years. One day, I got a Facebook message from her asking if I'd be interested in a sub nurse position for a different school district. The amazing thing about that is, that same morning I had asked God if I should call the head nurse at that district and ask if she needed a sub nurse. I took the job and the income I earned was only $10 less than what I been earning at my previous full time job. Ripples, ripples, and more beautiful ripples.
While I was working as a sub nurse, I was assigned to a different campus than I normally worked. Once there, I met an amazing woman named Cynthia, who just happens to write and publish children's books. Yeah, that was by accident, huh? When I told Cynthia I wanted to teach others how to write but didn't have any kind of college degree in that subject, she said, "So what. If you don't ask, you surely won't receive." Well I asked all right, and this summer, I will receive. The local college was thrilled to have me offer a writing seminar, degree or not. Ker-plunk, another pebble, another ripple.
As time moves forward, I'm so excited to see what God has in store for me and my career as a writer. He has held me up at every turn, and brought people into my life, to not only offer friendship, but to help shed light on the way I should go. I'm so thankful that when God let those pebbles hit, I ran with it and didn't just wait for the ripples to pass.
Today, I pray that if God has used someone to toss a pebble into the smooth lake that is your life, you don't waste time wondering about what you should do, you just ride that ripple and keep believing that God will send you another.
I see that lake and those ripples as a testament to my life now. On the outside I seemed happy in my quiet, still life, and I wasn't searching for anything more. I thought I was content in my stillness, until that one day when someone unknowingly tossed a small pebble and disturbed that smooth surface, and now those glorious ripples that formed will affect my life for years to come.
You see, each one of those pebbles represent a person God put into my path to urge me to move beyond the contentment I thought I comfortable with. They caused me to think outside of what I was capable of on my own and showed me what I was capable of once I let God use me.
That first pebble hit four years ago. It was a co-worker named Sydney. We got to know each other working side by side as school nurses and formed a lasting friendship. She eventually moved away, but we stayed in touch throughout the years. Little did I know at the time I met her, that she would eventually become one of people that made my writing career possible. When God gave me my knew calling, Sydney was the person He laid on my heart to reach out to first. She was no longer working and it soon became evident that she was to be my sounding board for ideas, my strongest supporter, and amazingly, my editor.
The next pebble to break through the stillness of my life was a kind hearted woman named Susan. We knew each other in passing from high school, but an encounter many years later made us best friends. Out of the blue, she suggested that we do a Bible study together. She had purchased several of them years before, but had never found the right time to do any of them. Now, what you need to know is that I had been out of church for over ten years and here was this woman wanting me to do a Bible study. If that wasn't divine intervention, then I don't know what is. God used my sweet friend to lead me back to Him and because of that Bible study my family and I joined a church, and I began to have a true relationship with Jesus Christ. This was also the time when I began to pray for God to use me however He saw fit. One year, and one sweaty run later, the story behind Katie's Glimpse came to me in a dream.
Fast forward six months. I was working my school nurse job and trying to write in the evenings and on weekends. It was a very hectic and stressful time for both me and my family. My husband and I prayed and felt it was time for me to pursue writing as a career. I quit my job and began to focus on my book. As the days passed, I began to pray for income to help us pay our bills even though I was now unemployed. I didn't know where it would come from, but I had faith that God would provide. And provide He did.
The next pebble to hit was a woman named Laurie that I knew from high school. We had been friends, but hadn't spoken in years. One day, I got a Facebook message from her asking if I'd be interested in a sub nurse position for a different school district. The amazing thing about that is, that same morning I had asked God if I should call the head nurse at that district and ask if she needed a sub nurse. I took the job and the income I earned was only $10 less than what I been earning at my previous full time job. Ripples, ripples, and more beautiful ripples.
While I was working as a sub nurse, I was assigned to a different campus than I normally worked. Once there, I met an amazing woman named Cynthia, who just happens to write and publish children's books. Yeah, that was by accident, huh? When I told Cynthia I wanted to teach others how to write but didn't have any kind of college degree in that subject, she said, "So what. If you don't ask, you surely won't receive." Well I asked all right, and this summer, I will receive. The local college was thrilled to have me offer a writing seminar, degree or not. Ker-plunk, another pebble, another ripple.
As time moves forward, I'm so excited to see what God has in store for me and my career as a writer. He has held me up at every turn, and brought people into my life, to not only offer friendship, but to help shed light on the way I should go. I'm so thankful that when God let those pebbles hit, I ran with it and didn't just wait for the ripples to pass.
Today, I pray that if God has used someone to toss a pebble into the smooth lake that is your life, you don't waste time wondering about what you should do, you just ride that ripple and keep believing that God will send you another.
Many blessings to you,
Robin