By Larry Leech @LarryJLeechII

My wife and I moved from Central Florida to South Carolina earlier this year. Often, people ask, “How’s it going?”

I usually reply, “We’re adjusting to a new way of life in a new world.”

After they respond they are as well, I explain that we moved from the city to the country. From having 400 restaurants, 50 coffee shops, 40-some grocery stores in an eight-mile radius and to living ten minutes from the nearest grocery store, 15 minutes from the closest Starbucks.

Numerous times while walking through our new house, I have said out loud, “Why are we here, Lord?”

I know why we moved to the Carolinas—to be near our son and his family, which includes our ten-month-old granddaughter. But I often wonder why this particular house in this particular city. 

So we are here. In this house. At this time in our lives. Sometimes I’m not sure why. Which leaves me a couple of options.

I could worry that we made a mistake. Worry is easy for me. I worry about just about everything. My wife. My son. My daughter-in-law. My granddaughter. My mom. My brothers. And the list goes on and on. If I’m not worrying about something, I’m probably not feeling well. 

I could second guess the choice of this house. God knows we looked at dozens of houses for nearly a month. After we bought this one, Wendy counted close to 50 pictures in her phone of places we considered.

But each time I wonder why, instead of worrying or second guessing, I settle quickly on trust. Trust that the Lord put us in this house, in this city, in this state for a reason. The control person inside of me wants to know why. I may never know the why and I keep going back to trust. Because if I don’t, I will drive myself crazy trying to figure out that why.

In life, in our faith walk, and in our writing, trust is important. Numerous books, blogs, and articles have been written on trust in various parts of life, so I won’t dip my toes in those waters. 

Whether a writer is a newbie putting words on paper or in a computer for the first time or a multi-published author with numerous Christys or ACFW awards under their belt, trust should be an important part of our writing journey. 

Trust in the ideas and words the Lord gives us. Maybe they are for others to read, learn from, and enjoy. Or maybe those ideas and words might just be for us, to help us grow and mature in our writing and faith.

Trust in the guidance of others, writers who have gone down the writing path you are on. One thing I love about the Christian writing community is the willingness of veterans to help those who are new to the journey.

And trust that God will equip us for what He has called us to do. Because we have an enemy who likes to derail us, we sometimes doubt we are on the right path. Spend time with the Lord for encouragement or be aware of when He speaks to us through others.

For someone who was raised in a family full of control freaks, trust is not always easy. I’ve had to learn to trust. Even while writing this, I wondered if this spilling of my guts would resonate with someone. But I “felt” led to write these words. So I sit here writing this—in my office in our new house—trusting.  

Writing coach of award-winning novelists, Larry J. Leech II has spent nearly 40 years working with words. After a 23-year journalism career that began in 1981, Larry moved into freelance writing and editing in 2004. He has ghostwritten nearly 30 books and edited more than 250 manuscripts. Larry teaches at numerous conferences nationwide and can be found online on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and his website, www.larryleech.com.