by Alena Wendall, @alenawendall
2021 will soon be in our rearview mirror, and 2022 will be here in less than a month. For me? Next year I will enter another decade in age!
Whoa! When did that happen?
Every old person joke I’ve played on my brothers and spouse comes to mind. (Please, no one remind me about the timeless principle of sowing and reaping. Eeck!)
I’ve been reflecting. It’s part of my usual end-of-year routine. To reflect on the past year, and use my planner to plan for the next. This time around, I’ve been a little more reflective than most.
I’m still holding onto that dream of a published author. How much longer? I’m about to be 50. Should I keep trying? Keep waiting?
Do you ever want to feel sorry for yourself and open your Bible and God whacks on the head? Yeah, that’s what God did to me.
In my devotional that day, the author gave examples of Old Testament people that spent years waiting. And in our microwave-instant society, it seems abnormal and frustrating to wait.
Noah, Abraham and Moses? Remember them?
“What would have happened if they hadn’t obeyed? And the question that I ask myself, What would have happened if they got impatient in the waiting and gave up?
What if Noah said, forget this after year five, I’m not building an ark for rain that I’ve never seen!
What would have been the result?
He would have died. His family would have died. Humanity would have died.
It was the reminder I needed to keep going. I renewed my focus and decided to keep obeying. To write with or without the contact. I may write a story that impacts someone’s future.
How about you? You may be waiting on “the contract,” or maybe you’re published and are wondering if your publisher will offer another contract? Or perhaps it’s not anything to do with writing but with your day job, applying for a better position? Are you thinking about switching careers or going back to school? Whatever dream you have or desire, if God gave it to you, keep going. Keep trying.
Decide to use this season to plan concrete steps on how you can reach your dream: smart goals, short-range goals, practical steps to get there. Please don’t quit.
Remember this scripture. Ephesians 3:20!
Now to Him who is able to [carry out His purpose and] do superabundantly more than all that we dare ask or think [infinitely beyond our greatest prayers, hopes, or dreams], according to His power that is at work within us. Ephesians 3:20 Amplified
Blessings!
Alena
Writing as Alena Wendall, Alena Tauriainen pens contemporary Christian romance novels that always end with a happily ever after. By day, she partners with her lifelong mate Clyde, to run the family HVAC business. She manages both business and family life with four lovable but crazy kids. She is the Retreats Coordinator for My Book Therapy. She is represented by Rachelle Gardner with Books & Such Literary Management. Visit her at alenawendall.com.