How I Became an Author
Most authors say they always dreamed of becoming a writer. For me it came as a big surprise. I was simply living my life as a wife and mother of three children, the youngest of which was in high school, when one Sunday in church our guest pastor said: "The Lord would have you write down everything He gives you." I was thrilled. I was certain this pertained to my work in the church and my job teaching in a Christian school. That is until a sentence came into my mind a few weeks later that had nothing to do with either of those activities. It was about a woman holding onto the sideboard of a wagon. I ignored it. But the Lord is gracious—and persistent. The sentence didn’t go away. Finally, one day during my free period at school, I wrote it down. That act of obedience opened a floodgate. Words poured into my mind. When I’d filled a few pages of my notebook I realized I was writing a story. I was dumbfounded. So much so I told no one, not even my husband, what was happening.
I titled the story Unexpected Love and continued writing in secret. A few months later the Lord impressed upon me He wanted the title of the story changed to Beauty for Ashes. Having learned my lesson, I immediately scratched out the old title and wrote in the new one. A few weeks later a woman, who had spent her most of her life as a missionary to India, came to speak at our church. When the service was over she came to me, took hold of my hands and said: "Did the Lord not say He would give you beauty for ashes?" She went on to say she didn’t know why, but the Lord was telling her to pray for a creative miracle for me. My secret had been exposed.
The path to the completion of that first story was not a smooth one. There were many things that interfered with my writing, including a physical problem that took me to death’s door. But I persevered. When Beauty for Ashes, a historical romance, was finished, the Lord impressed upon me that I was to write a contemporary story based on a book of the Bible. I again received a sentence in my mind. I wrote it down, the words flowed, and that story became Hosea’s Bride.
When the two books were completed I had no idea what to do with them. I knew nothing of the publishing business. But the Lord knew. He led me step by step, from person to person, and those two stories became my first two published books.
Most authors say they always dreamed of becoming a writer. For me it came as a big surprise. I was simply living my life as a wife and mother of three children, the youngest of which was in high school, when one Sunday in church our guest pastor said: "The Lord would have you write down everything He gives you." I was thrilled. I was certain this pertained to my work in the church and my job teaching in a Christian school. That is until a sentence came into my mind a few weeks later that had nothing to do with either of those activities. It was about a woman holding onto the sideboard of a wagon. I ignored it. But the Lord is gracious—and persistent. The sentence didn’t go away. Finally, one day during my free period at school, I wrote it down. That act of obedience opened a floodgate. Words poured into my mind. When I’d filled a few pages of my notebook I realized I was writing a story. I was dumbfounded. So much so I told no one, not even my husband, what was happening.
I titled the story Unexpected Love and continued writing in secret. A few months later the Lord impressed upon me He wanted the title of the story changed to Beauty for Ashes. Having learned my lesson, I immediately scratched out the old title and wrote in the new one. A few weeks later a woman, who had spent her most of her life as a missionary to India, came to speak at our church. When the service was over she came to me, took hold of my hands and said: "Did the Lord not say He would give you beauty for ashes?" She went on to say she didn’t know why, but the Lord was telling her to pray for a creative miracle for me. My secret had been exposed.
The path to the completion of that first story was not a smooth one. There were many things that interfered with my writing, including a physical problem that took me to death’s door. But I persevered. When Beauty for Ashes, a historical romance, was finished, the Lord impressed upon me that I was to write a contemporary story based on a book of the Bible. I again received a sentence in my mind. I wrote it down, the words flowed, and that story became Hosea’s Bride.
When the two books were completed I had no idea what to do with them. I knew nothing of the publishing business. But the Lord knew. He led me step by step, from person to person, and those two stories became my first two published books.
