Jesus replied, “But even more blessed are all who hear the word of God and put it into practice.” Luke 11:28 NLT

My friend Sarah Shelton flew overseas last month to realize a lifelong dream. She’s playing the part of Elsa in “Frozen” at Hong Kong Disneyland. She didn’t just dream, though. 

There was something to her hard work and effort. There was something to her positive attitude. There was something to her faith and believing it would happen. 

The BIGGER something, though, was God and His timing. 

After hearing from a dozen or so people, “You should write about that,” I dreamed about being published. 

I heard from a friend about a newspaper publisher in Greenville, SC, four hours from where I lived, who wrote for big publications like The New York Times. She taught a writing class titled “How To Get Published in Newspaper and Magazines.” When she didn’t publish me in her newspapers after the first six-week class, I drove to Greenville every Wednesday evening for another six weeks.

I ended up being published weekly in her three newspapers. I made the front page that she said never happened with a freelancer. I made a living as a writer for a couple of years. 

There was something to my hard work and effort. There was something to my positive attitude. There was something to my faith and believing it would happen.

But, looking back, the BIGGER something was about God and His timing. 

I took credit for my success even though …  

Without Him, I never could have written a word worth publishing. 

Without Him, I wouldn’t have heard about the class in the first place. 

Without Him, I wouldn’t have thought up the topic about Amish cooking that helped me break into her newspapers.

When I forget where I’d be without Him, all I have to do is look back at how quickly I burned out and how little I wrote during the next 10 years. 

I’m back obeying and being blessed, and He gets all the credit.  

Who gets the credit in your life? I don’t want to forget ever again. 

In This Together,
Kim