I'm Home

Before I attended the Christian Writers' Conference in Indianapolis last weekend, I was excited, apprehensive, nervous and hopeful. I hardly knew what to expect. Would these professional editors and publishers wonder why on earth I was even there? Would my book proposal and sample articles be an embarassment to me and those who read them? Kevin and I prayed and I wrote. My ladies' Thursday night prayer group prayed. I re-wrote. My friend and writing mentor in Florida, Clella Camp, assured me she was praying. I re-wrote some more. I was sick of my proposal, my one-page bio and even the photo of me on the front of the proposal. Kind of like how I feel about Hamburger Helper. We ate it so often when the kids were little, when I see and ad for it now, I imagine ripping that fat, white glove off the lady's arm and socking her with it! By the time we left for Indy Friday morning, I was a mess. I wondered if I'd truly heard from the Lord, or just made the whole thing up. But I went ahead, trusting the Lord to connect me with the right people. People who would give me honest feedback on my work. People who could help me get published or connect me with someone who could. And He did the Eph. 3:20 thing. He gave me above and beyond all I could ask or imagine! His first hug was a prize I won for composing a winning answer in 25 words or less to the question "What is your dream for your writing?" I have always loved winning prizes. Jesus knows that. He is so good. My next hug was when the first editor I met thumbed through my proposal and said, "This is very well done. I get alot of proposals, and most people do not put this much work into them." When he looked at some of my writing. he sang (okay, he just said it, but it sounded like music to me!), "It's clear you have a lot of talent." Although his publishing house is not doing work of my style, he kept my onepage and my business card, and showed interest in a possible future project. Finally, the second editor I met with laughed when he read my sample. This is a dream for a writer who hopes that what she thinks is funny, actually makes someone else chuckle. At first I thought he was just being kind. Until he said, "This is exactly the kind of thing I am looking for for my magazine! Can you cut it down?" "Oh, yes," I screamed (all right, I didn't scream on the outside, but I was doing a hoedown in my heart!), "I know I can!" He gave me his card, told me to send him some articles, and I went in the ladies' room and cried. Happy tears, with my hands lifted in praise to the Lord for His grace and kindness and favor. After fifty-three years, I have finally figured out what God is calling me to do with my life. To write. To make someone's day. To make the Lord's day. To have one--- or one million--- people approach me and say, "your writing revolutionized my walk with the Lord." Yes. I am home. This is where I belong. Jen