The final week of July 2020 found me in another State and in an unfamiliar city. I spent the week with my daughter in Provo, UT, a beautiful place to visit. She was working on her capstone paper for her doctorate, and I was finishing the second book in my Driftwood Cove series. A working retreat for both of us. (And, we did fit in a lot of talking too.)
We stayed safe by cooking at the Airbnb we rented, but there were times we had to go to the store or out for another reason. Driving in an area I’m unfamiliar with has always been a challenge for me. Following GPS directions is also a challenge.
I want the directions to not only tell me where to turn, but to also give me a heads up to prepare for the next bit of the journey. I usually get something like, “Turn right on (street name),” and when I make that turn, I hear, “Stay on this street for (distance).” I’m waiting to hear what’s to do next. Do I get in the right lane or the left lane? There is traffic and I need to know so I don’t have to switch lanes at the last minute.
I don’t have one of the dash mounts for my phone, so I have to depend on the mechanical voice to tell me what to do. It’s frustrating for me if I don’t know to move over a lane to prepare to turn, and the GPS gets upset if I miss a turn. By the end of the trip we agreed to take a break from one another. (Smile)
During the week in Utah, I realized writing with God is very similar to following GPS directions. I often don’t know where I’m headed in the story when the day starts out. I get an inkling and have to run—or rather, type—with that. There are surprises in store that can be intriguing or puzzling. I may not know why something happens until the end of the book.
In fact, writing book 2 of the series showed me that truth. There is something that happens early in the story, a quilt class that starts, and a particular quilt the class makes. I didn’t realize the significance of the quilt until the very last chapter of the book. My eyes teared up as I wrote that scene and realized that all along God knew how this would end. I just had to follow His directions, one step at a time.
While I can’t always trust my GPS to keep me on track—on the return trip I ended up way out in the country headed who knows where—I can always trust God to keep my story on track. It may be unnerving not to know what is going to happen in the next chapter, sometimes on the next page, but that’s part of the adventure of writing. I’m always amazed at how the story fits together, and the way I can see God’s hand at work.
I am reminded of the very familiar verses below. With the GPS, I have to listen to the tech and follow that, not my own guesses. In writing, I must not lean on my understanding, but trust God to lead the story in the way He wants it to go. He does direct my paths, which is such a comfort.
Trust in the LORD with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths. Proverbs 3:5-6 (NKJV)
