There’s a time for every purpose under heaven.
Ecclesiastes 3:1
“We have an offer on The Shepherd’s Song.”
The email from Greg Johnson came early one morning in November . Betsy read it first and almost sprained her ankle getting to the phone to call Laurie. Laurie was on a trip with her husband and was bolted awake by the news.
Breathlessly we called family and friends. After years of writing for children our first adult novel had been accepted for publication. As we shared the news a question came up:
How long did it take you?
That’s hard to answer. We have been around writing and publishing all our lives. We read manuscripts as children and have both written and published for 25 years. We have had years of life experiences that were important for the writing of the book. So how long did it take?
There’s a story told about Pablo Picasso.
A woman approached Picasso with a piece of paper and asked him to sketch something on it. He did and as he handed the paper back he said, “That will cost you $10,000.” The woman was appalled, “You took just five minutes to do the sketch. Isn’t $10,000 a lot for five minutes of work?” Picasso replied, “The sketch may have taken me five minutes, but the learning took me 30 years.”
All of us are preparing for the next thing that God has for us whether we realize it or not. We can often look back with new understanding and see how God has used our experiences, both good and bad, to train us. We are impatient, but when the time comes we can say, “Ohhhh, now I understand.”
Have you ever looked back and seen God working in your life to prepare you for what was coming? Did you ever doubt His timing?
Laurie and Betsy
WritingSisters.com
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Now we see things imperfectly, like puzzling reflections in a mirror, but then we will see everything with perfect clarity. All that I know now is partial and incomplete, but then I will know everything completely, just as God now knows me completely.
1 Corinthians 13:12
Congratulations! And I love this post. For thirteen years I was a professional nurse, and according to the doctors I worked with, I was a good one. I worked my way up from a graduate nurse to a head nurse and administrator and then I left nursing behind to be a stay at home mom. Fifteen years later I moved my bedridden mother into our home and cared for her the last eighteen months of her life when most people would have been intimidated by the amount of care she needed. I’ve always said that God prepared me to take care of my mother when He sent me to nursing school almost thirty years before.
Wonderful testimony, thanks for sharing. As we go through life we trust Him more and more because we realize/learn that He does have a plan that is perfect.
First of all, let me offer my congratulations for your accomplishment – and a heartfelt thanks for your efforts in writing for children.
It’s not difficult to question why things happen the way they do. I can recall many occasions shaking my head, ruefully contemplating how ironic it was that something had occurred in a totally unpredictable – or undesirable – way. So it is with my writing. I happened upon it at the tender age of 54. And after quite a bit of wrestling with the “why’s?” and “how come’s?”, I’ve come to the conclusion that it happened when I was ready for it to happen.
Excellent article, ladies….let me know if you want to interview on my blog…I’d be pleased to have you
Warm Regards,
Thomas Rydder
http://thomasrydder.wordpress.com/
Thanks Thomas. We never tire of hearing testimonies. It’s so interesting to see the many and varied ways God works.
We both began our writing careers after decade long careers in medical fields – part of our story.
And, we would love to interview on your blog.
Excellent! I do interviews regularly, and love having new friends come on. I do have a schedule, and it’s full through February, but I can get you worked in. You can do it as a team, or individually, your choice. Email me at steelerfutball57@yahoo.com, and I’ll send you the form. Oh, and your article was blogged, tweeted, digged, linked, googled, stumbled, tumbled, and pinned
Pingback: Laurie and Betsy – The “Writing Sisters”, with an insightful article on patience and getting published…:) « Thomas Rydder
They that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength . . .
AMEN and it’s so true.
Oh, and, are y’all going to receive $10,000 for every page?
I’m not sure if I’ve doubted his timing, but I’ve certainly wished for quicker timing! Looking back, I often see that God doesn’t answer my prayers right away (at least in the way I want Him to answer) because He wants to teach me things at a much deeper level than He could teach me if He just answered my prayers with a snap of His fingers. The longer I walk with Him, the more I trust His timing because I can look back and see a whole string of brilliantly timed answers to prayer.
Yes! couldn’t have said it better. Thanks.
Congrats! And thanks especially for your post today as it relates to writing and for all the ways we journey through life!
Excellent insight and something I really had not taken the time to consider before – thank you!
And I look forward to following your progress on the book!
Bernie
Thanks Bernie
Exciting news that your adult novel is being published. Congratulations!
Thanks, we are excited
Congratulations! And how interesting that I’ve just blogged about creative timing too (thankyou for liking!) I love the Picasso story. Creative people so tend to undervalue what they do.
Oh, this is wonderful, Sisters!!! I’m just so blessed to know you both–what a testimony you give us, in little bites that leave us wanting more!! Just so thankful, and praising God for what He is doing in, for and through you!! God bless you BIG–love, sis Caddo
Congrats again on your first adult fiction publication. So happy for you two! Sometimes I get frustrated and anxious, eager for that first published book. I’ve only been writing seriously for a bit shy of three years and I’ve learned so much in that time. But I have to remember, this is a journey which cannot be rushed. There are no shortcuts in life and I will strive to be patient as I write and query.
Good words. Thanks.
Congrats! I know sometimes I learn things that I think I won’t ever need and then I look back and I can see how perfectly God’s plan is and that everything lines up perfectly.