God’s Timing: Terrible or Perfect?

Dec 20, 2015Find joy today

This is a guest post by my friend Paula Moldenhauer, author of Soul Scents: Awaken

She has been a faithful friend for many years, and she loves Jesus. I look forward to reading her new book. If you would love to be challenged and encouraged (all at the same time), pick up her latest devotional, Soul Scents.

Here’s Paula:

IMG_5685art-567x720-240x300 small

“It’s all about God’s timing—and honestly, God’s timing is typically terrible,” my nine-teen-year old son said as we talked yesterday.

We laughed, but I get it. Life can feel like one long waiting game, especially when you catch a glimpse of where you want to be in the future and discover the journey there is longer than you dreamed.

But this week I’m standing in the glorious position of experiencing (not just believing by faith) the perfection of God’s timing.

I’ve dreamed of publishing a devotional book for many years. Last January I believed God released me to get serious about it. I’ve published both traditionally and non-traditionally with good experiences, but this collection was so intimate I wanted to publish it myself. I compiled devotionals I’d written over the years and began penning new ones, hoping to release for 2016.

That’s when it got rough. Writing about spiritual discoveries of recent years required digging deeper into a seven year period where life was really tough for my family. Instead of making progress I found myself sobbing at the computer. Eventually, I sensed God leading me away for healing time alone with Him. For several months instead of feeling like a productive author I curled up with my journal and some Bible study material, asking Him to give me insight into the journey we’d traveled. As winter turned to spring and summer I chose quiet days over work. Sometimes I prayed and processed. Some days I took walks and talked to my flowers!

And I healed.

Then fall came. I felt released to work again. Wouldn’t you know it? Suddenly writing devotions was almost effortless. Even stories of the hard times were no longer painful to tell. It didn’t surprise me my “unproductive healing season” was actually full of writing I now shaped to share with others.

Still, I assumed the “time off” meant my year devotional would release in 2017 instead of 2016 as I’d hoped.

That was before God swooped in and moved at a breathless pace.

Less than a month ago I suddenly realized the word count on the project was too much for one book. What I actually worked on was four separate volumes which collectively offer a year of devotions—and book one needed very little editing to be ready for publication. The same day I pondered this I “happened” to have a conversation with novelist Lisa Samson. When she learned I was working on a devotional collection she offered to design the artwork for it. She is launching a new art company which offers original illustrations, adult coloring pages, and other unique designs under the brand Lisa-Joy.

Within 48 hours of this conversation, the Lord put together a talented creative team—artwork, book cover, editing, proofreading, formatting, and business consultant–who were committed to seeing the book to completion. Less than three weeks later we uploaded it to Amazon’s Kindle for a pre-launch celebration. The print version releases by Christmas! I’m still stunned to think my dream of offering others a devotional journey for 2016 has come true. I call it as my Christmas miracle.

And that’s why, at least today, God’s timing feels absolutely perfect.

Soul Scents: Awaken is available now on Kindle. Enjoy a Christmas gift from Paula on Monday, December 21st and download it for free! The print version releases by Christmas.

About Paula:

Author, speaker, and mom of four, Paula Moldenhauer encourages others to be released into full potential through freedom in Christ and the empowerment of God’s grace. Published over 300 times in non-fiction markets, her first devotional book series, Soul Scents, releases in four volumes beginning with Soul Scents: Awaken. Paula’s first two novels released in 2012. Sometimes empty-nesters, Paula and her husband, Jerry, enjoy four adult children and a wonderful son-in-law. Paula loves peppermint ice cream, walking barefoot and talking to her flowers. For inspirational articles, book information, and speaking topics visit: www.paulamoldenhauer.com

0 Comments