How My Journey Began

My husband and I took this photo on a trip to Turner Falls. It reminds me of my journey—start at the bottom and each step gets you closer to the goal. I haven’t always been able to see what’s coming, but I’ve never regretted the journey once I reached the top.

For me, discovering that God had created me for a purpose and designed me for an exciting, creative career was encouraging. I had been out of college for two years and was genuinely seeking God for wisdom on which job to take. While in a bookstore I thumbed through Max Lucado’s Cure for the Common Life. It was about excavating your God-given gifts and skills and putting them to good use. So, I purchased the audio book and figured I’d learn something helpful while running errands for work.

Two years later, while cleaning the living room I found the unopened audio book hidden under some old CDs—so much for timeliness. Actually, my inadvertent procrastination did pay off. Hurricane Rita hit my hometown, and during our evacuation God opened a door to a new career in a big city. When my husband and I returned home, we devoured every faith scripture and believed God for our new jobs. Cure for the Common Life played continuously in my home and car stereo, and God began to highlight the stepping-stones that led to my writing career.

Since most of my job description consisted of event planning and community relations, I hadn’t really noticed God’s weaving and working writing into my daily routine. In fact, it wasn’t until I did an assessment that I saw a pattern emerge. Writing was always my favorite part of school and work, but I never really had the confidence to pursue it until God made a way for me to do so. Once I stepped into this new, exciting world I found myself humbled by God’s goodness. It was like someone had given me a new pair of shoes that were the perfect fit and designed for easy travel down bumpy, uncharted paths.