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Sarah's Writing Journey
God's Flight Plan
Why would someone called into fiction writing want a career dealing with contracts and corporate buyouts? Probably what God was thinking during my time at Oral Roberts University. I was a bright-eyed student seeking to attend law school in a few years and hopefully launch a legal career. (My dad and I even created a budget for life as a law student.)
But God methodically coaxed me away like a hawk pushing her fledging out of the nest. “Don’t attend the pre-law society meeting.” “Stop studying for the LSAT.” To finally, he kicked me out permanently: “Don’t pursue law.”
I was confused. “But this is what I’ve planned for three years.” He didn’t respond to my objections, so I obeyed. Now what? After three years of planning a career in corporate law, I had no idea what to pursue.
Yet God was moving behind the scenes. That year, I had to take Advanced English Comp, a general education class. While I enjoyed learning literary techniques and grammar, I didn’t sense any passionate stirrings, until one time, when we studied the “show not tell” tool. Our homework assignment was to use sensory language to depict a scene outside a car window. The teacher divided us into groups of four. Then each of us at our table read our passage out loud, and as a group, we decided whose entry should be shared to the rest of the class.
My peers selected mine. After I finished reading it out loud (for the second time that class period), my teacher said there was a writer in me. And a friend in the class told me I should be an author.
Nope! I don’t know any novelists; I came from a family of entrepreneurs with a few in the medical field. I casted that thought out and went on my merry way. Yet God planted a seed.
After I graduated, I’d imagine writing a novel. These images usually came at random times like when I’d go running or driving. Even when I worked for a software company, they invited me to work in their manual writing department. Anyone see a theme here?
So, I took a creative writing course and got hooked. I’d spend five hours on the weekends writing. After a while, I took more courses and knew this was my calling.
Callings require struggle like a fledging red-tailed hawk floundering as she strengthens her wings but gets stuck mid-flight onto a branch or grounded on a grassy knoll.
I’ve endured many adversities (including putting my writing on hold while I worked full time in the ministry), but now I’m preparing to publish my first novel, Christmas at Sonshine Barn. I’m thankful God knew the best flight plan for my career.
“You can make many plans,
but the Lord’s purpose will prevail,” (Proverbs 19:21 NASB).
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