Good Morning Friends,
Well I'm off for my annual visit to Bandera, TX! This time with 4 other ladies. Fun times ahead LOL!
Our guest today was in the spotlight on May 28th so please welcome Chrystal Caudill back as she talks with us about Embracing God’s Plan for Our Lives.
No story of becoming a published author is the same. That is because God has called each one of us to a unique path meant to draw us nearer to Him and meant to glorify His name. Even if it isn’t the way we envisioned.
My story certainly isn’t, but I hope that it one that will encourage you to embrace whatever plans God has for your life, whether a writer or not. His ways are better than ours, even if it means walking through some really hard stuff we never wanted to.
When I was in high school, I thought I knew what my life would look like. I’d be an elementary school teacher in the Appalachian Mountains and would probably get married around 28 after I’d had time to live and grow as an individual woman. But that isn’t not what God had planned for me.
I married at 19, live just outside Cincinnati, OH—which is NOTHING like living in the Appalachian Mountains, and although I taught for five years, I’m now a stay-at-home mom, caregiver, and author.
It’s that last one that I never envisioned, even in my wildest dreams.
Don’t get me wrong. I’ve always written stories. It was how I escaped and processed the challenges of living in a broken world. But I never dreamed of being a published author. I didn’t even want it. My stories were just for me.
Then God firmly closed the door on my teaching, calling me to be home where my family needed me. When I left teaching, I knew that this leaving wasn’t “just for a season” but a permanent end to what I thought had been my dreams. I was devastated. I wrestled for almost two years to learn to place my identity in Christ and not anything I did.
It took time, but I finally embraced that I was called to be a stay-at-home mom and caregiver. I was content. Sometimes I wonder if God took that contentment as a challenge to see how He much He could shake my world up again.
Through God’s hand and my husband’s obedience, I attended my first writers conference in 2015—not to learn how to become a published author mind you. No, my only purpose was learning to become a better writer, solely for myself. I’m a teacher after all, and teachers tend to be life-long learners.
Then God introduced me to a man who scared the daylights out of me by being extremely direct. “Are you looking to be published?”
“Nope.”
“Why not?”
“Because my stories are just for me.”
“Didn’t God give you these stories?”
“Well, yes, but . . .”
“Then why aren’t you seeking to be published.”
“I gotta go. It was nice to meet you.”
Boy, did I run. I absolutely planned on ignoring that conversation and avoiding that man the rest of the conference. Then God took all but one of the writing craft classes I wanted and canceled them due to the instructor becoming ill.
The only classes remaining? Publishing classes.
Seriously, God? To make a long story short, I attended the classes, had a tentative meeting to learn more from the guy that scared me, and then went home.
And fought God’s direction for SIX MONTHS.
When I finally embraced to God’s plan and begrudgingly did as He told, He used the journey of essentially seven years to grow me in my walk with Him, bring me friends I had prayed for 15 years to have, and to teach me His ways—though difficult to walk in—are far better than anything I could plan myself.
There have been many gifts of this writing journey, but one that brings me to tears every time I think about it is this one.
My teaching certificate—the plan and dream I once had—expired this June (2022). My debut novel, Counterfeit Love, released in March. It has symbolically been the closing of one door and the opening of another.
My encouragement for you is to embrace God’s plan for your life, even if it looks nothing like you dreamed or expected. It won’t be easy—it is STILL hard for me—but the way God will work on your heart and in your life is a reward that can’t be experienced until you do.
Feel free to reach out to me through my website, https://crystalcaudill.com/, join my newsletter (https://bitly.com/CaudillNews), or read Counterfeit Love to see glimpses of what embracing God’s plan for my life has and is teaching me.
What a lovely post, Crystal, Thank You for sharing!
Hope you enjoyed Crystal's post as much as I did, Friends and that you'll check back each week for Wednesday Words with Friends and Saturday Spotlight.
Until next time take care and God Bless.
PamT
7 comments:
Crystal, what a wonderful interview. Thanks so much for the reminder that God's path for one is not the same as his path for another. Blessings to you.
Hi Crystal, I love this story. So glad you listened because Counterfeit Love was a great story! Looking forward to the next book in the series
Thank you for sharing that! I think we all need a reminder to let God guide our paths. Congratulations on your book!
Fascinating story! Thanks so much for sharing your experience, and your book. We never know what direction God will send us in next.
Thanks for sharing with us, Crystal. God opens doors we didn't think possible. Congratulations on your debut novel. I know there are more to come.
Inspiring and so true! I have a favorite quote card on my refrigerator. It says--Trust in God's Timing--It's Always Right. wishng you all the best with your book and with your career.
@Carol, that reminder is so important. I'm constantly reminding myself to not compare my journeys to others even as I walk it!
@Kelly, thanks so much. I'm glad you enjoyed Counterfeit Love!
@Alina, thank you so much! I agree, we all need a reminder to allow God to guide our paths!
@Patricia, amen! We never do know where God will send us next. It's both terrifying and exhilarating. Praise the Lord we can trust him.
@Barbara Britton, Thank you so much! And yes, God certainly does open up those impossible doors!
@Barbara Bettis, Thank you so much, and I love that quote card. Such truth in it!
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