by Lynn H. Blackburn @LynnHBlackburn

I made some new friends recently.

And by that, I mean I literally made some new friends. 

I decided they needed to exist, and so I created them. I thought about them until I had an idea of who they are. I gave them names, temperaments, hair color (one of them’s a ginger!) and eye color, backstories, siblings, jobs that they love, reasons they haven’t found love . . . yet, and then I threw them into a dangerous situation. 

I’m not a plotter and I have no idea what happens next, but I’m already intrigued by who they are and by how they seemed to want to exist and how now that they do, I can’t imagine how they ever didn’t before. 

This is the part where some people, usually people who aren’t writers, get a little worried about my mental health. But my writer friends will be quick to quote Luna Lovegood (from Harry Potter, but you already knew that, right?) and assure me that I’m just as sane as they are. 

This may seem weird or nonsensical to some of you, especially those of you who are nonfiction writers, but for me it’s a desperately needed lungful of creative air. When there is so much that is not right in the world, when there is so much I cannot do, this is something I can do. 

It’s also left me even more in awe of my Creator.

I have to wonder if part of the thrill of creating new characters is a shadow image on my soul leftover from the way God felt when He decided that I needed to exist. 

He gave me a name and a temperament, blonde hair that turned brown (and now is running full speed to gray), and blue eyes. He considered the exact time in history that I would live out my days and decided on what family I should be born into to give me the right mix of love and drama that would lead me straight back to Him. 

It’s humbling to consider that the God of the Universe went to the trouble to decide that the world needed someone as uniquely me as me. And He decided the world needed someone as quirky and fabulous as you, too!

It’s incredibly comforting to rest in the knowledge that no matter how much it feels like the world is spinning out of control, the Truth is that He’s still writing our story, and thankfully for us, God isn’t winging it. He’s not waking up every morning wondering what will happen today. The Author and Finisher knows exactly what happens next, and He hasn’t dropped the ball, lost His train of thought, or gotten lost down a rabbit trail.

As we continue to experience the spinning and spiraling plot twists of life, my prayer for all of us is that we will be comforted by the extraordinary grace that is ours as beloved creations. That we will rest in the knowledge that we don’t have to have it all figured out, because He’s gone before us into every confusing bit of our story, and He’s already written a happily ever after that is beyond our wildest dreams. 

Grace and peace,

Lynn H. Blackburn loves writing suspense because her childhood fantasy was to become a spy—but her grown-up reality is that she’s a huge chicken and would have been caught on her first mission. She prefers to live vicariously through her characters and loves putting them into all kinds of terrifying situations—while she’s sitting at home safe and sound in her pajamas!

Her Dive Team Investigations series kicked off in March with Beneath the Surface. The second book in the series, In Too Deep, releases in November with the third book to follow in 2019. She is also the author of Hidden Legacy and Covert Justice, which won the 2016 Carol Award for Short Novel and the 2016 Selah Award for Mystery and Suspense.

She lives in South Carolina with her true love and their three children. You can follow her real life happily ever after at www.LynnHBlackburn.com and on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and Instagram.