Hope for the Heavy Heart

I printed the email.

Is THIS real? Is THIS REALLY HAPPENING?

When I started my faith walk 4.5 years ago, God called me to writing. His voice was loud and clear. He called me to write about my experiences of walking through the valley with eyes fixed on Him and with steadfast faith.

For me, trusting God to walk me through the valley has always felt natural. I attribute this to the fact that God literally saved me from death. Knowing He saved me from the absolute worst, it's been rather natural to have faith that He will save me from everything else, too. "If He did it before, He'll surely do it again." If He saved me from death, surely I could trust that He would walk me through a difficult divorce and carry us through our son's NICU journey. Because I know that many struggle with fully surrendering and relying on God, I feel He has called me to share my stories of His faithfulness to encourage others in their walks.

I remember feeling a pull to Proverbs 31 Ministries 4.5 years ago. That organization was where I went to for my daily encouragement and Lysa TerKeurst's words spoke such life and Biblical encouragement into my heart as I journeyed through the bitter wilderness. But when I inquired with a fellow Christian writer and friend, she gave me a blunt reality check about how “some writers spent their entire careers working to be published there.” Certainly, writers didn’t START there. (Note: I love this friend and respect her ability to be such a sharp-shooter. She is someone I can go to knowing she is always going to give it to me straight.)

I didn't let the harsh reality quell the fire He set within me. I continued to pursue writing and pursue it in obedience. I wrote on my Facebook page. I started this blog and the secondary platform, Hope in the Unexpected©. Maybe writing for Proverbs 31 Ministries wasn't in my future. If that was the case, I was okay with that. I knew God called me to write. I trusted Him with whatever He wanted to do with my obedience. If my writing platform never grew, if I never became a sensation, if I was never published, if I only ever wrote for one person--maybe even just myself--I was okay with it.

So to see God’s faithfulness come through in my story some 4 years later is nothing short of miraculous. I didn't expect it. I didn't see it coming. To be able to share with you that my obedience to the call is resulting in my personal blessing of a dream come true and hopefully in the blessing of encouraging others, is incredible.

So to speak of His goodness and His faithfulness to bless us with the desires of our heart for His ultimate glory, I'm honored to announce that God has lead Proverbs 31 Ministries to choose my devotion on hope in the unexpected to be published in their book, Hope for the Heavy Heart coming in September 2021.

To God be the glory!

Stay tuned in the coming months for details on how you can get a copy of this devotional, packed with 44 entries that are sure to speak to all of our hearts!