He replied, “Because you have so little faith. Truly I tell you, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.”
Matthew 17:20 

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For this series, we’re doing something really fun with our devotionals. As we welcome back some of our favorite pastors and teachers from years past on Sunday mornings, we’re going to “welcome back” devotionals from the past few years! We hope you enjoy these posts that garnered quite the heartfelt response when they first found their way into your inbox and on the Willow app.

I wanted to publish a book for as long as I can remember. Growing up, I had a lot of experiences that told me what my gifts were not. Art. Volleyball. Perfectly cracking an egg. But words—words came easy to me, and I didn’t take that lightly. 

In high school, I struggled to find novels for girls my age that were fun, but clean. I wanted to provide this for the next generation. I wanted them to have a book that made them laugh and showed them Jesus’s love.

One summer I finally decided to write that book, and by August I had a very messy first draft. The following summer I had the opportunity to attend a local writer’s conference. This is where I could get published and make my dream come true!

I arrived at the conference like a fish out of water. Attendees had briefcases, business cards, and actual published books. I had a manuscript, printed from Office Depot, in a puffy paint-decorated tote bag. I had no idea what I was doing.  

What happened at the conference should not have happened. Not without Jesus. There were people way more qualified with more experience. But I won a contest with my messy rough draft and an editor took a chance on a naïve twenty-something with no professional writing experience.

Eight years later, that messy manuscript became a real-life book, and I pray people are finding humor and love in its words. None of it would have happened if I hadn’t taken that literal first scary step into a writer’s conference.

God calls us to do things that seem impossible. Through those eight years, I faced rejection and hardship that made me want to give up, but I kept believing in what God called me to do. I took step after step until I made it to the finish line.

I still have dreams that seem impossible. But I take one step at a time in the direction God leads. I may end up at my dream, or I may end up somewhere else, but I know wherever I end up, it will be possible with God.

Next Steps

What is a dream God has put on your heart? Spend time in prayer asking him what next step you should take.