It's been a crazy couple of weeks. I just wrapped up my Christmas novella, Christmas in the Rink, and behold! Edits for two other books, Beck's Peace and Burk's Surrender, arrived in my inbox within seconds of each other.
I expected Beck's Peace, but I was rather surprised to receive both books. Since I'm fairly single-minded, I don't usually bounce back and forth between books, especially when they feature identical twin heroes, Beck and Burk. Hello! Anybody see a problem here? Although these twin heroes, polar opposites, were so much fun to write, it was torture keeping them straight. I was afraid that somewhere along the way Burk would end up romancing Beck's heroine or vice versa.
Typically, I stop whatever I'm working on to dig into edits, but last weekend, we expected our house to be bursting-at-the-seams with family. My parents were coming, and it was the last opportunity to visit with them before they made the trek back to AK for the summer. Also, several of our male family members were excited about heading to the NASCAR race in Martinsville, and our house made the perfect landing spot for all.
So what to do? Clean and shop for a full house or work on edits for two books?
For me, the decision wasn't too hard. Family takes precedence, and I had ten days to turn in the edits. But what if I was backed up against a tight deadline and losing a couple days in my schedule really mattered?
Well, don't you know that very same weekend our awesome pastor preached on...divine interruptions. Kinda timely, don't you think? I won't go into details of the message, but later that week God really hammered me with this particular passage (and it wasn't even part of the sermon!).
Do I consider the interruptions in my daily work schedule as God-appointed? Or am I more exasperated that I'm not reaching my word count goal? Ouch.
Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying schedules and daily goals are a bad thing. After all, God prefers organization over chaos. (1 Cor 14:33) But, since God sees the big forever picture, His plans for my day might be a bit different than mine, and if I'm praying for God to direct my path, shouldn't I be open to the opportunities he plants in front of me?
You know how amazing God is? He stretched my time as only He can do, allowing me to accomplish all the tasks, and my editor received the edits way ahead of schedule.
What about you? Do you tend to get frustrated or annoyed with interruptions? Or do you treat them as the divine encounters they might be?
God, help me to acknowledge that You order my day, not me, and to recognize these interruptions as divine appointments. Fill me with Your joy, and allow me to be a beacon for You.
Labels: #amediting, #amwriting, Beck's Peace, Burk's Surrender, chaos, Christmas in the Rink, divine interruptions, edits, Harmon Heritage series, inspirational romance, Organization, Pelican Book Group, romance
