Even when the outcome is unclear, we can work knowing our labor is not in vain when it’s done unto the Lord!
Protector has a sequel!
Allow me to clarify. Protector was always going to have a sequel. The Susa Chronicles is a duology, aka a two-book series, which by definition involves…two books.
But that sequel now exists. It’s complete and edited and turned in to my publisher as of 4:47 p.m. on November 14, 2023.
Protector 2 (definitely not the final title) is the third book I’ve written, but reaching “The End” hit me differently this time for one big reason—I’m not wondering what to do with it!
I wrote this story under contract, so this is the first time I’ve finished a book and did NOT have to go pitch the story to a publisher.
In fact, writing book two was a new experience because I always knew my work had a home.
My mindset was different from the start. I wrote free from anxiety and self-doubt (mostly). I knew I had a team of people eager to help me take the initial manuscript to the next level. I never wondered if I was wasting my time on an unmarketable tale.
And that’s a problem.
From the moment I started writing my first-ever, yet-unpublished novel in 2020, I knew I was doing exactly what God wanted me to do. There weren’t promises of fame and fortune, but I knew I was putting my hands to the right thing.
Yet, I doubted. Yet, I stressed. Yet, I placed the burden of success in the worst possible spot—on my own shoulders.
Friends, if we know God is with us and His Word is true, why are we living and working and parenting as if we have no assurance?
Wouldn’t it be lovely to approach each day confident that He is faithful? Wouldn’t it be great to tackle the to-do list with hope instead of anxiety?
What if we trusted that we are doing enough because He is enough?
I don’t know if I’ll write my next book after Susa Chronicles with a contract in hand or not. Regardless, I can trust that my work has a home—even if that home is on my laptop—because my hope isn’t in a publishing deal. It’s in the God who supplies, equips, encourages, and comforts.
I can believe my time and energy are well spent because I don’t live under a curse of fruitless labor. I don’t toil in vain. Instead, I live in the fullness and abundance purchased at the cross. I can know that whatever I put my hands to has a purpose even if that purpose is just the time I spent with God in the process.
With that mindset, I have the freedom to work with joyful expectation.
