WHOSE WAY?

 I could feel the discouragement creeping into my writer’s mind.  Another editorial rejection -- the fifth rejection of this article.  It seemed such a perfect fit for that magazine.  It was one of my best works -- an article advocating Christian education. The subject was important, the takeaway was good, the paragraphs flowed -- what was hindering its publication?

 This article had been a labor of love for me.  I was able to candidly describe the difficult experience my daughter had adjusting to a Christian school after being a mischievous teenager in public school, and how she developed into a young woman in Christ through her Christian education.  Although writing about my daughter’s spiritual turnaround had moments of agony because it intensified the memory of her sudden death in a car accident when she was only 22.  But writing it was a way for me to honor her memory, and share the blessings that Christian education had to offer.

 For those reasons this latest rejection was especially disheartening.  Rejection in any area of life could be a difficult pill to swallow, but in the writing profession it can often be rejection upon rejection.  Fortunately, a writer’s work isn’t always rejected because the writing is poor, but for any number of reasons of format, timing, and interest.  However, this particular rejection led me to question my worth as a writer because there were several rejections of the piece.

 In the course of my discouragement, my thoughts went to a friend whose daughter was also experiencing a difficult time adjusting to the Christian school environment. Well, maybe she could get some help from my article, as long as I’m not getting it published.  Maybe reading it would keep her from getting discouraged at her daughter’s temporary unhappiness.  I know I could have used some encouragement when my daughter, Jennie, was unhappily walking the fence between the Lord’s standards and the pull of the world. 

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Though I had no way of knowing it then, God was already preparing her daughter’s heart.  She had heard of my daughter’s tragic death, and had often gazed at the sweet beauty of her picture in the hallway at school. 

 Though my first thought was to encourage my friend through the article of the struggle my daughter had gone through, it was her daughter who was deeply touched by it. Touched so much that it became an important factor in her decision to stay in the Christian school.  Several weeks later on a most special day, my friend’s daughter asked Jesus into her heart!

 What a revelation for me.  My article had been “published” after all -- published in God’s way.  He had used it, not as I had planned in a large Christian magazine reaching thousands of people, but He used it to personally touch the life of a young girl He knew could use those words at just that time.

 It made me realize that so often in my life I have served God the way I want, or the way I think is best, rather than pray for discernment of His will.  I need to be mindful that God has His plans for my service, and His plans are far higher than any plans I may have.  Isaiah 55:8-9 reminds me: “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the Lord. “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.”

 I’ve learned that if I serve Him according to His will, my efforts in life will be “published.”