It began in fourth grade when my teacher, Mrs. Lewis, returned a graded assignment. "You're a good writer," she said, placing my paper on my desk and looking directly at me.  She was known far and wide as the meanest teacher in the school and this would be the only positive thing she said to me the entire year.

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I'd love to report that I spent the next years reveling in this affirmation and writing all manner of stories and such. I did not. In fact, I forgot it for decades.

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My home life at the time was in shambles.  It would disintegrate a few years later in the wake of every kind of abuse imaginable. It would take years to reclaim my spiritual, emotional and psychological health.

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As an adult, homeschooling, church ministry, community volunteerism and freelance journalism kept me busy.  My marriage ended the year before my youngest left for college. It was time to start over again. 

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I was in a thrift store one day and spotted a book that looked familiar. It was a classic children's story and I called up a memory of me sitting alone devouring it. 

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Here's the thing: during the chaos of my youth, there wasn't disposable income for reading material and we didn't visit the public library. Yet I distinctly remember sitting alone reading the Bobbsey Twins, the Nancy Drew series, Mike Mulligan and his Steam Shovel. We had two sets of encyclopedias, the usual kind and a set that summarized the Bible. I would sometimes thumb through the dictionary just for fun.

These books found a way to me and began my love of narrative. When I add these memories to my 4th grade teacher's assertion, I have one thought:

 

I was born for this.

 

Nothing that has happened to me is powerful enough to cancel my calling. God created me with the skills to accomplish my passion. This knowledge, mixed with perseverance and crowned with prayer, is all I will ever need.

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I wrote a book. Then another. Soon I had a series centered around painful, real-life issues, the battle between light and dark and God's good will towards his creation.

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I began training Christian writers, ensuring their stories were both technically and spiritually sound.  I taught a MasterClass to a group of writers whose anthology became an International Amazon Best-Seller. 

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I developed an online inner healing program based on my book series that guides believers through the steps that healed me. I was astonished to find that though I felt my issues were numerous, they were not and could not stand before the simplicity of truth. (Yes, truth is simple but healing takes work.)

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I've battled fierce imposter syndrome and performance anxiety as I corrected negative mindsets. I know I'm on the right path.

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The vision board in the picture above is next to my writing desk and is both a daily reminder of my dream life and an internal roadmap. God is also there: I see his promises, I feel his agreement, I expect his provision.

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I recognize God’s hand on my life and I summon the courage to walk through the doors he has opened. 

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I pray the same for you.

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Pamela

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