“Your mother is dying.”
My mind understood the doctor’s words, but my heart refused to believe them. Only a few days prior, my ninety-four-year old mother had taken a day trip to Reno with my husband. How could she be dying?
Why now, God?
This was supposed to be the weekend I would put the final touches on my novel before sending it to my agent.
Too many circumstances in the past six months had kept me from diligently writing. Moving in with my mom after her stroke. Readying our house for sale. Packing the things of my own I wanted to keep. Thanksgiving, Christmas, visiting with my daughter’s family on their return from overseas. Stomach flu – three times in two months.
And now, this.
I was afraid.
Afraid if I don’t keep writing, my agent will drop me.
Afraid if I don’t finish my next project soon, I’ll never find a publisher.
Afraid if I don’t keep blogging and posting on social media, I will lose the tiny bit of platform I’ve gained.
Afraid to watch my mother die.
Like the song from Christian recording artist, Zach Williams, “Fear, he is a liar.”
God’s word is the truth.
Proverbs 16:3 Commit your works to the Lord and your plans will be established
Jeremiah 29:11 For I know the plans I have for you declares the Lord. Plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope
Proverbs 16: 9 Thee mind of man plans his way, but the Lord directs his steps
Though I’m afraid and overwhelmed, God is showering me with His peace as I meditate on His word. I encourage you to ‘take His yoke upon you’ so that He can give you rest.
Jane S. Daly is the author of two books, Because of Grace (2015) and The Caregiving Season (2016). She is also the treasurer of Inspire Christian Writers and West Coast Christian Writers.
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