When You Take a Step Toward Your Dream or Goal...And Nothing Happens
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photo by daniel frank on unsplash
Have you ever taken a step toward your dream or goal, only to see your efforts fall flat?
Several years ago, not long after I started to get more serious about writing, I decided to write and submit an article to a magazine called Creation Illustrated.
Creation Illustrated is a Christian magazine that blends personal experience with nature education. Since my idea had to do with an encounter I once had with a groundhog, I put in a lot of time researching these little creatures. A lot of time. From start to finish, I spent about four months working on that article. (Partially because I wasn’t super consistent about working on it, and partially because I was a slower writer back then.)
At long last, in June 2017 I completed the article and submitted it to the magazine. To my delight, I heard back from the editor that same day (not something that usually happens in the editorial world.) The team liked my idea, the editor said, but they wanted to see some modifications.
I spent the next week adjusting my article to their specifications. I resubmitted it and waited for a reply. But, unlike our initial encounter, this time the editor was slow to respond. To make a long story short, when she eventually replied, she said that although they still liked the article, they weren’t going schedule it for publication that year. However, they wanted to hold on to it for possible future use.
I contacted her the following summer, when, again, she said they weren’t planning to use it that year, but would still like to hold onto it.
At that point, I pretty much gave up the idea of the article being published in that magazine. Though I was disappointed after all the work I had put into it, I decided to move on to other things.
Then, on a sunny April afternoon this past spring, I opened my email, and in my inbox was a message from the Creation Illustrated editor.
“Dear Carina,” it began, “We are happy to inform you that your story submission on A Surprise Visit has been selected for the children story in the summer 2019 issue of Creation Illustrated.” I was surprised, to say the least!
In early August, over two years after I first submitted the article, my wait was rewarded when I opened my mailbox to find a copy of Creation Illustrated’s summer edition. Inside was my groundhog story, complete with one of my original photos of the groundhog enjoying my back deck.
DO WHAT YOU CAN WITH WHAT YOU HAVE, AND TRUST GOD WITH THE REST
King Solomon wrote, “Sow your seed in the morning, and at evening let your hands not be idle, for you do not know which will succeed, whether this or that, or whether both will do equally well” (Ecclesiastes 11:6 NIV).
We never know ahead of time if or when our efforts—our seeds—will bear fruit. Sometimes we see results right away, sometimes we never see tangible results (this side of Heaven), and sometimes results come but take longer than we expect.
As purposeful women, our job is to plant the seeds we’ve been given. We’re called to embrace who God created us to be and love others through our gifts, our passions, our personality, our position (culturally and geographically), and our relationships. But while we’re responsible for doing the best we can with what we have, the rest is up to God. To the Corinthians, Paul wrote, “I planted, Apollos watered, but God made it grow” (1 Corinthians 3:6 CEB).
If there are seeds you’ve sown that seem slow in bearing fruit, I want to encourage you: Don’t give up!
You never know what’s happening behind the scenes. Like my groundhog article, what you planted years ago might just be a late bloomer. Keep planting what you have, and keep trusting God to make the right things grow in the right time. God’s got this!
Stay tuned—I’ll be sharing my groundhog story next week!
With love,
P.S. Christmas is just around the corner!
It’s the best—and also the busiest—time of year.
You want to spend time with Jesus, but there’s so much to do.
I know firsthand how the bustling, planning, and partying, can eat away at our connection with the real reason for the season.
That’s why I’m offering a video-based devotional mini-course that can help you connect with Jesus in a fresh way in just a few minutes each week in December.
Check out the details and sign up by clicking here or clicking the link or image to the right.
I’m excited to share this special season together!
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P.S.
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