Every now and then we find ourselves at a moment in time that might be considered a turning point in our own life story. I’m at that crossroads. Do I continue to write inspirational fiction for the Christian market or do I try to reach a broader audience, one that includes many who live in darkness, starved for messages of hope, faith, and goodness in a troubled world?
The thing is, Christian readers know the love of God. They already have faith and hope. They’ve found trust and healing. So if I want to reach the broken—which I do—perhaps I shouldn’t be looking among the healed.
I once cut a bouquet of flowers from my garden to give to a neighbor who was struggling with cancer. She’s a lovely woman, inside and out, one of the most live-by-faith people I’ve ever known. I asked her, “Why would God give this [sickness] to you, of all people?”
“Maybe so someone like you would bring me flowers and pray for me,” she said.
Thankfully, my neighbor recovered and as far as I know, she’s still in remission. She has since moved away, but I think of her often, pray for her nightly and remember her words. She touched my life. I’ve gotten much better over the years at reaching out to those in need.
Everything God gives us, the good and the bad, has a purpose.
I come from a broken home. I had a lonely childhood and I was a troubled teen. But maybe all of the challenges I’ve overcome, all of the blessings I’ve enjoyed, all of the personal connections I’ve made, have all led me to this one moment, where I’m called to step beyond my comfort zone, to embark on a more challenging path.
Like Esther, who found herself beloved of a king but afraid to seek his help until her cousin, Mordecai, asked, “And who knows but that you have come to your position for such a time as this?”
Or like Moses, who resisted God’s calling, citing his lack of eloquence. “Who am I to appear before the pharaoh?” he asked. But God encouraged him, gave him a staff to perform miracles and bid him take Aaron to hold him up.
A visiting missionary once said, “Think big! Because you’re worth it. God’s love is worth it.”
Who knows what we might accomplish if we simply believe in ourselves, in who God made us to be?
Are you a Moses or someone’s Aaron? Are you an Esther or someone’s Mordecai? You could be. I could be.
Have you touched anyone lately?