by Jody Allen

It was a typical day of running errands. I found myself at the catchall store, Walmart, in search of a housewarming gift for friends. I clanked my rickety cart to the Garden Center in hopes of finding just the right flower that said, “Welcome to your new home.”

I puttered around the Garden Center with no success. As I approached the automatic doors to leave, nothing happened. I backed up, thinking I wasn’t close enough to the sensor, and approached the door again. Nothing. I tried again. Still nothing. I kept adjusting my body and my cart, hoping the doors would have mercy on me and grant me a way out.

Feeling a bit silly, I looked around. There wasn’t a single soul in the Garden Center but me. I laughed out loud. I was stuck in the Garden Center at Walmart.

If I wasn’t in a hurry, I could plop down and wait for an employee to come by. That wasn’t likely since it was fairly early in the morning. Or I could call the store and hope someone answers. Instead, I took matters into my own hands and tried prying the doors open. Pointless.

Then I did what needed to be done. I banged on the doors like a crazy person. I kept pounding on the doors hoping someone would hear me. The more I pounded, the more foolish I felt.

This is often the same way we writers feel walking the publishing path.

Sometimes we feel foolish.

We question our call to write or our ability to string sentences together to impact lives. Who am I to write this book? Or submit that blog post? I have nothing of value to say. I say to that, “Hogwash.” You most certainly have something of value to say.

What you have to say differs from the next writer but is no less valuable. You don’t have to have a PhD in English or Creative Writing or be an expert in the field to write. You just have to be faithful and obedient. There is nothing foolish about following God. It would be foolish not to.

Sometimes we feel alone.

We look around and see writers who have written multiple books and published more articles than we’ve actually read. Yet we’re still figuring out how to use Word. All their successes make us feel like a failure, like we’ve missed the writing boat. Just because someone else seems to have made it, doesn’t mean we never will.

Let’s not let the enemy tempt us into thinking we’re an unsuccessful imposter in a world of successful people. That’s a lie. We are not the only one with an unpublished book or a stack of rejection letters. We are not alone. We have writing people. We just need to find them.

Sometimes we feel like there is no way forward.

Or we know there is, but we have no idea how to proceed. We feel stuck. Maybe you feel like you’re still banging on the same door. Is it time to try a new door? Or is God asking you to persevere and keep pounding? (I see you Panther fans.) Be assured that God hasn’t forgotten you. He is still in the business of making what seems impossible possible. We are never too stuck for God to move us forward. Never.

After several minutes passed with me trapped in the Garden Center, a blue-smocked gentleman finally heard my pounding and opened the doors. He didn’t seem alarmed that a customer was stuck in the Garden Center. He said, “Oh yeah, the door is broken.” Ugh. If you know the door is broken, how about a sign?

Sometimes we need a sign too.

Let this be your sign. God hears you knocking. He sees you going to conferences, setting writing goals, and pecking out words. Trust Him to open the doors. He will do it in His time and in His way.

Jody Allen is busy working on her first book, a lifeline to help women navigate life when pornography wrecks their relationship. On the lighter side, she thinks most occasions call for a good rhyming poem. Jody serves on staff at her church as the Director of Women’s Ministry, where she enjoys speaking and finds friendship and fulfillment in leading women’s small groups.

Jody is grateful for the makers of peanut butter, mechanical pencils, and electric blankets. She lives in North Carolina with her college-aged twins and Lucy, a mostly obedient black lab. On Sunday afternoons you will find Jody napping on the couch and reading her new love, suspense novels. You can connect with Jody at jodyallenwrites.com or on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/jodyallenwrites/.