These past few months have been filled with novelties—online classes, livestreamed church services, social distancing, curve-flattening, masks and social bubbles and a quiet, slowed-down world. Heading into this summer, I'm diving into a new batch of novelties in the writing world, beginning with my first ever Camp NaNoWriMo, my first ever writer's conference (virtual or otherwise), and potentially, down the road, my first ever live writing sprint.
Good thing I have help.
Tackling new or overwhelming undertakings in our lives can be exciting, but it can also be laden with baggage—fear and uncertainty, doubt and dread, or simply the exhaustion of taking on tasks we may not know how to handle. In my experience, the baggage can often outweigh the excitement, making it difficult to "rejoice" until we've checked that oh-so-overwhelming task off our to-do list for good.
The more time we spend on earth, the more such experiences we have. And though the tendency toward doubt may never fade completely, experience breeds understanding, and hindsight is 2020. If nothing else, God has used my stressful time of self-publishing to strengthen my faith in His provision and sovereignty, until now, facing a new slew of potential stresses, I can look back to His goodness and remember that it will follow me forward. In other words, I can rejoice in what He has already done, and joyfully count on His help as I face what He has not done yet.
Because thou hast been my help, therefore in the shadow of thy wings will I rejoice. ~Psalm 63:7
No matter how long you've been walking with Christ, God has never left your side. He has been your help in places and times where you may not even have seen Him—supporting you, protecting you, walking beside you, bolstering your strength when you thought it would crumble, guiding and leading you on. Regardless of what you now face, you have the experiences of God's goodness to lean on, to remind you that He has been your help all along, and because of it, you have cause to rejoice.
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