In May of 2009, I was staring at the first day of the rest of my life. My oldest daughter was set to graduate high school in less than a month. Two years later, her sister would march right behind her, followed in two years by their twin brothers.
Life as I’d known it for the past eighteen years was about to change and change enormously.
Throughout my tenure as a stay-with-my-children mom, I’d written for publications—sporadically. Very sporadically, but I had a portfolio of articles with my byline in print.
So in May of 2009, I decided my summer job would be to write something for Guideposts, a magazine filled with inspirational, faith-filled stories. I’d just completed the Life of Moses with Bible Study Fellowship, and I envisioned sharing a lot of wisdom and insight gleaned from thirty two weeks of study.
I wrote What I learned from Moses on the top line of a yellow legal pad. As soon as I wrote this scintillating title, I immediately began daydreaming—about Ireland, not Moses.
In my daydream, a woman in an Irish café scribbled in a journal. A little old man in a tweed vest approached her, introduced himself, and began talking about his late wife. Another man dressed in dusty safari clothes sat to the woman’s left, lounging at his table and listening in.
This scene interested me infinitely more than what I’d intended with Moses. I turned over the first page to a fresh sheet and wrote as quickly as I could everything I saw and heard in that Irish coffee shop.
Irish Encounter began that day. I didn’t know it yet, but God did. I just hurried back every morning to my desk to see what happened next. Before writing, I’d recite Bible verses from the Moses study. Verses like Exodus 3:12 “And God said, ‘I will be with you’” and Exodus 4:12 “Now go; I will help you speak and will teach you what to say.” I’d pray for guidance and help, and then I’d travel to Galway.
God led me onto this writing journey with a lot of prodding and pulling and nudges toward those interesting characters. I’m thankful every day that He did.
Which interesting path is God leading you toward today?
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