Gifts Given for a Purpose

by Marcia Lee Laycock

 

November 30th 1982. I sat up in the hospital bed as a nurse brought me a breakfast tray. I smiled at the small card propped up in a plastic holder – Psalm 103:1,2 – “Bless the Lord O my soul: and all that is within me, bless his holy name. Bless the Lord O my soul, and forget not all his benefits...”

I had a lot of reasons to bless the Lord that day. It’s a day I will never forget because it was the day I gave birth to my first child. She was a miracle child, God’s gift to me, a gift that proved He existed, proved he loved me, proved He wanted a relationship with me. That gift awakened my soul to those truths and changed my life forever.

Yes, my daughter turns 32 today and that means it’s been 32 years since I accepted Jesus as my Saviour. I shake my head and wonder how that happened – how have all those years gone by? They have been good years – years filled with raising our children, serving a church, and launching a writing career. Some of those years were difficult, times when teenage rebellion threatened to tear our family apart, times when illness filled the long hours with shadows and doubt. But they were years when God made his presence known to us.

And they were all years in which I wrote thousands of words, many of them about that daughter and the other two who came after her. They were the inspiration for my writing when I first began, working on short stories for Sunday school papers and short devotionals for a faith column in a local newspaper. Sometimes my daughters weren’t happy about that, especially if I forgot to tell them they would be in the paper that week!

All of my children are God’s gifts to me, given for a purpose. They are His way of revealing Himself to me, challenging me, healing me, as we grow together in the understanding of who He is and what He wants from us.

I believe God gives us all the people in our lives, family members, friends, co-workers, even those we prefer to hold at arm’s length, so that we will see Him, recognize His goodness and grace and then write it down so others will see what we have seen. I believe God orchestrates the events and circumstances of our lives to that end.

That’s the role of a writer of faith, to seek ways to understand and reveal God’s character. Sometimes it’s not easy. Sometimes we must struggle with doubt and fear and even anger, before the truth shines through. But it is in the struggle that our faith is deepened, our understanding broadened. And it all happens within the community of those who surround us.

“It is written: “I believed; therefore I have spoken” Since we have that same spirit of faith, we also believe and therefore speak, because we know that the one who raised the Lord Jesus from the dead will also raise us with Jesus and present us with you to Himself. All this is for your benefit, so that the grace that is reaching more and more people may cause thanksgiving to overflow to the glory of God.” (2Cor. 4:13-15) 

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To celebrate my daughter's birthday and since Black Friday has just gone by, I am offering Abundant Rain, an ebook devotional for writers for FREE through December. It can be downloaded here in any ebook format. Just use the code GM35V

 

Marcia Lee Laycock writes from central Alberta Canada where she is a pastor's wife and mother of three adult daughters. She was the winner of The Best New Canadian Christian Author Award for her novel, One Smooth Stone. Her second novel, A Tumbled Stone was recently short listed in the contemporary fiction category of The Word Awards. Marcia also has two devotional books in print. Her work has been endorsed by Sigmund Brouwer, Janette Oke, Phil Callaway and Mark Buchanan.  

Visit Marcia’s Website