by Mary A. Felkins, @MaryAFelkins
I know what you’re thinking. It’s December 31st. Hello. Time for another inspirational blog on the need for all serious writers to conduct a year’s end assessment and set goals before launching into a new year.
Well, yes. Kinda.
When revisiting the goals we’d set around this time each year—and were fiercely determined to achieve—we typically discovered that what was actually accomplished looked different. Or never got done.
Why? What happened?
Life.
The inevitable intrusion of circumstances.
An essential surgery?
Death of a loved one?
An unwelcome latent depression settled in after writerly rejections?
A long-awaited contract required we give a manuscript(s) our undivided attention and put other projects aside?
Wise planning allows space for the unexpected. But like a writer who has painstakingly created their characters and plotted their stories—scene by scene, freeze frame by freeze frame—life upends our goals. It sends a free-spirited, pantser mindset whirling at warp speed.
But that’s what makes for a good story.
As we headed into January 2020, how many of us factored in the possibility of, say … a pandemic, social isolation, cultural unrest, political turmoil? In short order, those literal plot twists upset our carefully laid plans.
No one but God saw that coming. And no one but God knew His greater purpose in it.
Our stories don’t always play out as we’d plotted or look like we’d envisioned. Characters, at times, simply refuse to follow direction. Scenes are notorious for taking screeching left hand turns we didn’t anticipate. Additional research might shake a story’s foundation. What about those petulant secondary characters who insist on a bigger role—even demand their own story?
As we commit to execute the goals we’ve set for 2022, let’s remember life happens and leave room for God’s disruptions to transform us a little bit more into his image. Because He granted us the gift of writing for the sake of His holy name.
His glory.
The mandate to write is a humbling, worthy endeavor. It requires planning and determination. But regardless of the goals we’ve set for the new year, expect the unexpected and trust the Author Who’s in sovereign control of it all.
(Colored) pens and planners ready … Let’s get to it.
Happy New Year, y’all!
Tracy Cassidy, a self-reliant ED nurse, must choose between her dream job or staying in her hometown to help support her mother’s faltering ministry. Even if it means falling in love with the kind of man she said she’d never marry. Why risk being Laurelton’s next cop widow?
Tom DeLaney, a hyper-vigilant cop and new hire from Texas, is wearied by failed rescue attempts to save his marriage. After he moves to the foothills of North Carolina, he hadn’t expected to fall for Tracy, but when Tom’s adolescent son is diagnosed with a chronic illness, he faces the risk of loving another woman with keep-out issues.
Fears related to the death of Tracy’s cop father and Tom’s inability to forgive the past threaten to sabotage any chance at love.
To trust again means surrender. Will they risk their hearts and answer the call to love?
Mary A. Felkins is an inspirational romance author, blogger, and contributor to writer’s blogs and inspirational publications. Her debut novel, Call to Love, is set in Hickory, North Carolina, where she lives with her husband. They have four young adult children. She is a member of ACFW (American Christian Fiction Writers) and My Book Therapy.
Her purpose in writing is to reclaim God’s intention when he created the world–to enable readers to know his heart and experience his love.
The unmerited gift of a large, unopened bag of Peanut M&Ms® or an episode of Fixer Upper will lure her from her writer’s desk. A surprise appearance by her teen idol, Donny Osmond, would also do the trick, although she’d likely pass out.
Upon introduction, if she likes your first or last name, expect to see it show up in one of her novels.
To receive Mary’s story-style devotions and/or quarterly author newsletter offering book-related giveaways, subscribe via email on her website. www.maryfelkins.com
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Comments 2
Thank you for your timely post, Mary. I think it resonates with all of us. My husband often says, “Life happens while we’re making other plans.” I am so thankful that the Lord is our Shepherd, and all we have to do is follow Him. Blessings for a new year filled with His Presence!
Lovely post! Encouraging and God honoring—well done!