Trust God with the Rewrites

I’ll never forget the day I opened a twelve page editorial letter addressing the structure of my latest manuscript. That detailed missive by my sweet editor concerned my third work in progress from a major publisher and it left me wanting to walk straight off the end of our dock. It was easily the most substantive content edit I’d received to date.

My anxiety increased as I read page after suggestive page on how to improve the clarity of the project. The length of the missive itself wouldn’t have bothered me had I felt up to the challenge of the rewrite. I didn’t. Nor did the hard work itself scare me. What was paralyzing me was the gut feeling that I didn’t understand how to even begin to do deliver the results my editor was outlining. Thus my initial comment about wanting to take a long walk off the dock.

Instead, I sat down on the steps and began praying. I prayed, reread the letter and repeated the process until I felt like I could open my laptop and address my editor’s thoughts, one by one. The end result, through the cooperation of a brilliant editor and a trusting, albeit nervous author, was a finished project fit for release.

Thinking back on that season puts me in mind of the challenges a new believer can imagine, as well as the pressure a returning prodigal might feel. We know we’re given a new birth through Christ Jesus that’s been bought and paid for, but the walking out of this new life can feel like getting an in depth editorial letter. Anybody? 

I eventually worked through that editorial letter by getting started and staying with it, but praise God, that willingness to begin and stay with it is where our analogy ends. You and I simply don’t know how the Son of God is formed in us. I find that truth oddly comforting. Our job is to continue believing in Him and continuing to behold Him while we trust Him with our transformation, the rewrites if you will. Sounds like the makings of a dock party to me!

Hugs,
Shellie