God's Waiting Room - Make it An Exciting Place to Be!

I first wrote this article back in 2010 before I was published. I wouldn't receive "THE" phone call until the following year. Even though the words were written five years ago, I know that today there are many writers waiting for the opportunity to see their first novel in print. Back when I wrote this, opportunities to go indie and self publish your work digitally did not exist, and the traditionally published avenue was basically the only way to go. Even so, before you decide to go the indie route at the outset, there are a lot of pros and cons to weigh. And the first question a new author has to ask themselves is this: "Is my story at the caliber it has to be for me to take it indie, or should I continue to wait for my agent or the editor to whom I submitted a proposal call saying I sold my book?" I'll save my thoughts on that for another article. Here's my post.

I've written about waiting before, but it's been a long while.

Last August on a hot and humid day, a friend and I stepped into a very crowded doctor's waiting room. Since most everyone who comes to this particular doctor has to have eye drops, they come with a designated driver, which of course, means two seats for every patient.

The doctor had to cancel appointments a couple weeks earlier because of a trip to Haiti to assist earthquake victims. Now, it appeared they'd doubled up on that day's appointments to catch up. A "catch-22" in the making.

So there we were, squeezed into this warm, stuffy room for three hours. At least part of my time was spent doing a field test and being seen by the doctor, but my friend finally had to step out for some air.

God has had me in His waiting room for a long while as I await publication in fiction. But unlike the stuffy doctor's office I experienced last summer, His waiting room is exciting because God doesn't waste time--even waiting time. 

This past year, He revealed to me through books by Henry Blackaby and Francis Chan that the Spirit of the living God is within me in a profound way, ready to lead me through all of life's challenges. That those nudges I feel at times are more than just intuition, but God Himself guiding me to make good choices. Of course I've believed, ever since coming to Christ, that the Holy Spirit is within me, but this took my concept of that to a whole new level.

Then, over the summer, I read several C.J. Mahaney books on humility, worldliness, and living the cross-centered life. I also read another book by Francis Chan called Crazy Love. And, from that reading I've been led to deal with pride in a huge way.

I begin every morning now acknowledging that God is my Creator and He is the one on whom I depend for the very air that I breathe and for everything in my life. He is the one who equipped me with the desire and talent to write, and in His due time I will reap a harvest. That without Jesus going to the cross for me, I wouldn't even be able to stand before God and pray to Him and know that He hears me and that He loves me unconditionally. That having my life in His hands is the best thing in the whole wide world.

I'm still waiting where God has for me at this moment. While here, I continue to do what He has called me to do--write! And learn to write better. I attend conferences, listen to teaching on MP3's, podcasts, etc., participate in online courses, and read a lot of fiction. Reading is for enjoyment and entertaining, but for a writer like me, it's also learning by the example of authors who have gone before me.

I think I ended my last article about God's waiting room saying I wouldn't want to be anywhere else. I still feel the same way.

Me again in present time. Since that article I've had two novels published that I eventually received back the rights on and am in the process of republishing as indies, had another novel set in my hometown published, and have recently signed a contract with Lighthouse Publishing of the Carolinas for a rodeo romance, tentatively titled Second Chance Love. And still I find I am consistently waiting. Waiting on more book contracts, waiting on better sales for my indie books, waiting to decide my next steps. Each and every year I've learned more and more that I have to continue to show up most days at my desk to pound out my stories and to trust God totally and completely that He'll find the right place for them.

A native of Lake Geneva, Wisconsin, author Pamela S. Meyers lives in suburban Chicago with her two rescue cats. Her novels, currently available, include Thyme for Love, which has recently been rereleased on Amazon and her 1933 historical romance, Love Finds You in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin. She expects two more books to be released in 2016. When she isn’t at her laptop writing her latest novel, she can often be found nosing around Wisconsin and other Midwestern spots for new story ideas.