My first novel
was born during my freshman year at Baylor University in the spring of 1954,
and I still have the original, yellowed pages and all. Then life intervened
with a husband and three sons and a teaching career that spanned thirty-six
years. All this time I wrote short stories and jotted down ideas for novels.
Hope for
anything more than a few novellas, articles in magazines, and stories in
compilations when my seventieth birthday rolled around. Who wants to take a
chance on an author in the winter season of life? Tamela Hancock Murray
encouraged me not to stop, and she continued to submit my proposals.
That’s where the
urgency comes in. The goal is to write as much as possible and publish as many
books as possible in the time left whether it’s one more year or ten more
years. I want to get all the stories in my head out there. With two bouts with
cancer behind me, the Lord has a purpose for keeping me around, and I don’t
want to miss any opportunity.
Patience has
never been a virtue of mine, but God has taught me to wait for His timing, His
timing is always perfect. He taught me to persevere even when hopelessness
tried to set in. He reminded me that His plans for me were filled with hope. My
prayers were heard and answered when God chose the right people and the right
time.
After almost
seventy-six years, a lot of life is under the bridge as well as so many
experiences of God’s grace and mercy in my life. Through my stories others can
see just how great our God is.
So my writing
advice for the day is to pray, be patient, and persevere. If writing is God’s
plan for your life, He will make it happen.
2 comments:
I agree. The passage of time does cause a sense of urgency. Especially when you consider how long it takes to write/revise just one novel out of a head full of ideas! Sometimes I wonder if I'll ever get them all out on paper!
You definitely have a purpose, Martha! You're such an encouragement to so many!!!
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