by Carol Nemeth
As an author who began writing as a teenager, I was confident I would get published early too. After all, my love of writing was every bit as heartfelt and important as any other author’s. Right? No doubt true, my love of writing certainly couldn’t guarantee publication. It wasn’t until our second child was born that I actually finished a novel and attempted to gain publication. That journey was fraught with disappointment, rejection and self-reflection. My first novel, Yorkshire Lass, was rejected time and again, leaving me to wonder, was writing God’s plan for my life? Had I stepped out of His will and thrust my plans ahead of His?
I prayed, If it’s not Your will for me to write and to pursue publication, then, Dear Lord, please remove this love and desire to write. It never went away, but I prayed for His will to be done as I continued submitting my manuscript. I tried to leave it in His capable hands. More rejections followed as well as one publisher who gave me hope. They made suggestions to my manuscript with the idea they might be willing to accept it. They didn’t. Disappointment again washed over me. I continued praying, but God was silent. Even in the midst of His silence, my desire to write and to publish my novel should have shown me He hadn’t said no. He was telling me to wait. As most of God’s children often do, I struggled with waiting for His perfect timing.
I began my novel soon after our daughter was born in 1990. Yorkshire Lass finally published in March 2016, nearly twenty-six years later. I may never know all the reasons my Abba Father took me on that disappointment-fraught journey to publication, but He sure taught me some things.
His timing is always perfect, and I must trust His timing. The details of my life are better left in His hands to work out the proper time for them to happen. Psalm 27:14 tells us “Wait on the Lord: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the Lord.”
I learned that God has our best interests at heart. There’s no doubt He wants what’s best for us. Jeremiah 29:11 says “For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.” He didn’t withhold publication because He was angry at me or being mean. Perhaps He knew because I was home schooling my kids, I wouldn’t be able to juggle both. Some amazing home school author moms out there can do both. I might not have been one of them. Whatever His reasons, He chose to wait until 2016 to publish my first novel. Since then, we’ve published eight more books. I’m blessed in ways I never expected.
I recently read a devotional stating how God moves the universe to accomplish His will in our lives and to answer our prayers. Think about that for a moment. What did He do in the background of your life that you’ll never know about to get you where you are today? When I reflect over the twenty-six years it took to reach publication, I’m amazed at God’s awesomeness in arranging everything to get me to this point. Do I know all the details? Not at all. I do, however, know the God who arranged them and the fact He gave me the strength to endure until His perfect time came to pass. And that’s all that matters.
About the Author
A native North Carolinian, J. Carol Nemeth has always loved reading and enjoyed making up stories ever since junior high school, most based in the places she has lived or traveled to. She worked in the National Park Service as a Park Aid and served in the US Army where she was stationed in Italy, traveling to over thirteen countries while there. She met the love of her life, Mark Nemeth, also an Army veteran, while stationed in Italy. After they married, they lived in various locations, including North Yorkshire, England. They now live in West Virginia, where, in their spare time, Carol and Mark enjoy RVing, sightseeing and are active in their church. They have a son, Matt, who serves in the US Army and a daughter, Jennifer, her husband Flint, who serves in the US Air Force, and three grandchildren, Martin, Ava and Gage. Their four-footed kid is pretty special too. Holly, a black Lab loves traveling in their RV, and when they pack up to go, she’s waiting inside for them to head out.