by Lucinda Secrest McDowell @LucindaSMcDowel
“Is this the author Lucinda Secrest McDowell?” came the lovely southern voice at the other end of the phone.
I had been tempted not to answer. In my daily ritual of decompressing after a busy day at high school, I was sitting on the porch, drinking strong Earl Grey tea and — to be honest — feeling a bit discouraged.
“Yes…. this is Lucinda,” I tentatively answered.
Polly Jo introduced herself as one of my readers from Raleigh, North Carolina and then spent the next few minutes saying how much my one-word-a-day devotional “Dwelling Places” was ministering to her heart and soul.
“In fact, my dear friend Kristina and I have just finished art-journaling all 40 of your words from the Lenten section ‘Renew,’” she concluded.
“Why that’s amazing! I’m not really even sure what art-journaling is,” I confessed.
“After reading that day’s devotion, we sit with the word, meditate on it, and then creatively pull in all kinds of mixed media to portray our thoughts and promptings as a picture in our journals,” Polly Jo explained. “Would you like to see some of our pages from those words?”
Of course I would. And when she sent them to me, they were exquisite expressions of how God had reached into the soul of a teachable woman and prodded her with One Simple Word.
Then, several months later, I received word that these precious Raleigh women had decided to spend the summer going through the ‘Grow’ section of Dwelling Places and art-journaling each of those words.
Don’t you just love how God created us all so uniquely – with gifts that complement one another? Gifts that differ and yet are used to help build the Body of Christ?
I am so grateful that my two new friends – Polly Jo and Kristina – followed the prompting of the Holy Spirit to call a complete stranger and thank her for writing a book that is being used in their lives.
Do you even know how humbling this is for me? To hear that people actually read my words and absorb them into their own walk of faith! Honey, that’s what it’s all about.
So here’s the thing. Next time, after a school day with noisy teenagers, when I am out on my screen porch during Quiet Tea Time, if you ring me to say that you are one of my readers (or anything else), I promise to Answer the Phone!
Because we never know when God will send a whisper that sounds so much like, “Cindy, yes, you are living in the Right Story I have for you… Keep going…”
“For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.” Ephesians 2.10
Lucinda Secrest McDowell, M.T.S., is a storyteller and seasoned mentor who engages both heart and mind while “Helping you Choose a Life of Serenity & Strength.” A graduate of Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary and Furman University, McDowell 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 (2018 Selah Finalist), Live These Words, and Refresh! Lucinda, a member of the Redbud Writers Guild, received Mt. Hermon “Writer of the Year” award and guest blogs for The Write Conversation, Blue Ridge Mountains Christian Writers Conference Blog and (in)courage. Whether co-directing “reNEW ~ retreat for New England Writing,” pouring into young mamas, 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.
Follow Lucinda on Twitter: @LucindaSMcDowel
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