by Lucinda Secrest McDowell, @LucindaSMcDowel

“Let my teaching fall like rain and my word settle like dew,
like gentle rain on new grass and showers on tender plants.”
Deuteronomy 32:2 HCSB

Up with the sun I was eager for an early morning walk in the Blue Ridge Mountains. Blooming rhododendron and cobwebs with sparkling dew throughout the lush garden of the conference center filled my heart with gratitude for the Creator of the surrounding natural beauty.
Those clear drops reminded me that each new day is a fresh opportunity for nourishment and filling. Having arrived as writing conference faculty jet-lagged and weary, I too was being refreshed like the dew.
The previous evening, my dining companions had been a table-full of young authors and bloggers eager to soak up wisdom and advice. Both excited and concerned how they could responsibly incorporate publishing into their busy family life, these women reminded me of my younger self attending this very conference thirty years ago.
Pausing to capture the dew’s beauty in a photograph, I recalled the biblical prayer “may my word settle like dew, like gentle rain on new grass and showers on tender plants.” (Deuteronomy 32.2)
I wanted my words this week to be full of grace, challenge and encouragement. Droplets of hope and tender mercy for those who would carry God’s Word forward to a hurting world.
Nature is both simple and complicated. Dew forms when certain conditions come together at just the right time. This week was just the right time for me to “let my teaching fall like rain,” trusting God for the outcome. Perhaps some “tender plants” would be nourished by the wisdom I had accumulated through the years.
My whispered prayer as I concluded my walk – “Thy will be done.”
Soon many of you will also be walking amongst the rhododendrons in those same beautiful Blue Ridge mountains. My prayer for you is that God will both use the words of many faculty to encourage and guide you as well as your own words to encourage others. Soak in the wisdom and trust God for the future.

– adapted from “Let the Earth Rejoice” (Worthy, 2017) a devotional assignment I received while at the Blue Ridge Mountains Christian Writers Conference.

Lucinda Secrest McDowell, M.T.S., is passionate about embracing life — both through deep soul care from drawing closer to God, as well as living courageously in order to touch a needy world. A storyteller who engages both heart and mind, she delights in weaving grace and mercy into ordinary life situations. A graduate of Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary and Furman University, she is the author of 13 books and contributing author to 30+ books. Her books include the award-winning, Dwelling Places (2017 Christian Retailing Best Award for Devotional) , Ordinary Graces, Live These Words, Refresh! and Role of a Lifetime. A member of Advanced Writers and Speakers Association (AWSA), Lucinda received Mt. Hermon “Writer of the Year” award and guest blogs monthly for The Write Conversation. Whether co-directing “reNEW ~ retreat for New England Writing,” pouring into young moms, or leading a restorative day of prayer, she is energized by investing in people of all ages. Lucinda’s favorites include tea parties, good books, laughing friends, ancient prayers, country music, cozy quilts, musical theatre, and especially her family scattered around the world doing amazing things. Known for her ability to convey deep truth in practical and winsome ways, she writes from “Sunnyside” cottage in New England and blogs weekly at http://www.encouragingwords.net/
©2018 Lucinda Secrest McDowell www.EncouragingWords.net