What happens when life or even God detours you from your dream? Can it be recovered?
This is Felicia Ferguson with Christian Mix 106, helping you build faith for the journey.
When people ask me about writing and my writing career, the question they most often ask is some form of “when did you know you wanted to be a writer.” I tell everyone the same answer: I knew I wanted to write when I was in the fifth grade. I knew in my heart I was put here to tell stories and write books. But one peek at my bio shows that just because I knew I was supposed to be a writer that didn’t mean I took a straight path into my calling.
In middle and high school, I didn’t huddle up in a corner with a notebook and pen for hours on end. No, I did speech team, academic team, rode and showed horses, and was an honor roll student. Nor did I major in English or Writing in college. Instead, I majored in healthcare administration and then later went back for a masters in speech language pathology. I worked in both fields for almost fifteen years total in a variety of locations.
During those years, however, I was writing. But nothing I would have counted me as being a real writer– Or at least the writer I envisioned being in fifth grade. It looked like I was completely detoured from my original calling and so I just focused on what I had to do at the time.
Fast forward a few more years, and guess what. I actually now am that writer. I do tell stories and write books. But all of my earlier activities and work places that felt like detours from my calling have actually impacted the stories I write and the characters I create. And if I hadn’t taken those detours, I know I wouldn’t be who I am today. I couldn’t write with the depth of understanding I have without the non-writing experiences. Looking back on those years, I see them for what they are. Rather than detours, they were immersion experiences. And much like a foreign exchange student going to a country to learn the local language from the locals themselves, I lived in those cultures and learned those languages for myself so that I could write the books and tell the stories God has called me to write and tell.
So if you’re wondering about a childhood dream now muddled by your current situation, ask God to show you how he’s using the detour to prepare you to walk the road he’s always planned for you. You can trust him to lead you the whole way.
This is Felicia Ferguson, thanks for listening to Christian Mix 106.