I had some writer related news this month. If you don't follow me on my Facebook page
(1) Dienece Darling, author | Facebook, you might not have heard. Earlier this year, I was trying to figure out how to spend my Christmas money. People had been generous; I just had some ambitious plans for it that exceeded my budget. I decided to pray about it while putting my son to bed.
My son threw his blanket off his head (he like likes to sleep under the blankets) and asked what I needed help with. So, I told him the ins and outs of all the options, then he walked me through how to do both of the things I wanted: have a gardener tame my garden and enter an expensive writing contest.
So, I took my son's advice and hired a gardener for one hour a week. Between his visits, I worked on the garden myself. Giving me space between gardening so I didn't get sore and help when it all became too much for me. Between us, we got it done within my budget, and I got to enter the writer's contest. The garden bed front window looks fantastic now, like a garden not a wilderness.
When I opened my email earlier this month, I had a surprise waiting for me. I was a semi-finalist in the Genesis Contest 2022. The competition I'd wanted to enter but didn't think I could until my 11 year-old son helped me budget. I've been teaching him how to budget for years. Never thought it would end up helping me! :)
I'm still very excited over the news and beyond grateful. Here's the link if you'd like to find me. 2022 Genesis Contest Semifinalists | ACFW. I'll find out next month on the 15th (American time) if I made it any further.
Either way, this was a big writer's moment for me, and I thought I'd share it with you. Sometimes, God answers prayer in ways you never expected. If I'd brushed off my kid or ignored his suggestions, I'd have missed out on a huge blessing. And to be honest, I often say rather bland prayers at bedtime, but it occurred to me that my kid would never learn to pray real ones if I didn't start being open with him. So, when I felt the nudge that night to take out my messiness, my questions and let my kid hear me talk to God about it, I didn't ignore the nudge.
In trying to help my kid, God turned it back to bless me. Isn't God great that way?