Preface to this series: Back in 2019, towards the beginning of this blogging venture, I wrote a series called “Christians and the Creative Writing Process.” Now, seven years later, I wanted to revisit the topics to expand them and add new insights. The original version of this post can be read at this link.

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The outlining and writing of the first draft prompts me to reflect on the Lord in a myriad of ways, particularly on what the Lord is teaching me in my own life story. Oftentimes, I find that God uses the story I’m writing and its themes to encourage or exhort me in the moment or season of life I’m in. In the past, I’ve wept while writing a scene where a character is called to respond with courage, because that was a lesson the Lord Himself was teaching me at that time in my life. Our Company of Fools and The Queen of Whitman Court both came about in seasons of change, and in the character arcs of my current work-in-progress, The Myth-Keepers, I see many of the personal struggles I used to or currently grapple with, whether it’s learning to trust others, to work on letting go of certain friendships for the sake of pursuing new ones, or humbling myself, among others. It’s neat to see how God works through my own writing to help me process where He wants me to grow in my daily life.

In a broader sense, though, the process of outlining, writing, and any sort of narrative-shaping points me towards the Truth of God’s amazing authorship. As mentioned before in this series, He wove the metanarrative in all of Scripture to point to Christ. He continues to orchestrate the events of the world for His purposes, and “We know that all things work together for the good of those who love God, who are called according to His purpose” (Romans 8:28 CSB). His Kingdom is advancing, and He is continuing to move through history, writing each individual story so that we grow in Him and get to participate in the spreading of the Kingdom. That is a marvelous truth. God works on us individually, all while He also uses us in others’ lives to shape His grand plan for redemption and His glory. I am in awe of this reality. Quite frankly, I can barely plot and outline my own novels. It’s hard work. I like having a ton of characters, connections, and plots. The Myth-Keepers has been a massive struggle to actually write because of how many character arcs are involved in its narrative. It’s so hard to balance all the complexities of a plot, even within just one POV (point-of-view). And yet it’s no problem for God to work in the lives of all His people across all of time to create one cohesive narrative that brings Him the ultimate glory. I can’t fathom how He interweaves the lives of billions upon billions of people into a cohesive narrative, and yet He does.

God also writes the perfect first drafts for each of us. In His sovereignty, He gets it right the first time for each of our plots. Now, I don’t know about you, but I’ve never written a perfect first draft. Or second. Or third, fourth, fifth, etc. Even my published novel, Our Company of Fools,is not perfect. But God, in His perfection, writes the first draft for us and for the world as exactly what needs to happen. In our life, we can never “write ourselves” into a hole deep enough that we completely fall out of line with God’s purpose for our lives. We may not always understand where our story is going, or even where the course of the world is heading, but nonetheless, it is exactly as He intends. He uses change, hardship, and our failings to teach us something about Himself and, potentially, give us the opportunity to minister to others going through similar trials. I don’t often (or really ever) understand why I’m going through a difficult season or struggling with a particular sin while I’m in that chapter, but once I’ve turned the page to the next part, I see only His good purposes for my life when I look back. It’s comforting to think about the perfection of God’s plan for our lives.

Admittedly, and as I said a moment ago, it’s not easy to recognize that all is working out for good and according to His plan in the moment of intense suffering or grief. I think about the story of Job, which I recently read. Job’s life falls apart. He wants answers from God, even while understanding God’s sovereignty over all wisdom and all of the world. God answers him by pointing out His sovereignty over every aspect of creation. The Psalms are another good example from us. Psalm 22 opens with crying out, “My God, my God, why have you abandoned me? Why are you so far from my deliverance and from my words of groaning?” (Psalm 22:1 CSB), yet turns to praise later on: “I will give praise in the great assembly because of You; I will fulfill my vows before those who fear You” (Psalm 22:25 CSB). It is a good reminder in the moment of our distress to still praise Him, to still recognize His Lordship and Authorship over all of our lives and creation, and to trust Him even when it is not easy to do so. As characters in God’s grand story of creation and restoration, we do not see the full outline. We do not see where the story is going. Yet we can trust that He will write the perfect, most satisfying ending.

I confess, as an author who has a clear vision for where my stories will go and how they will conclude, it can be hard to rest in the uncertainty of my own life. I get impatient. I want to flip to the end of the book of my life that God has written already, before the foundation of the world was established, and see how it ends. And yes, as a Christian, I know how it ends: Revelation gives us the final chapter, or the start of the final chapter, with the New Heavens and New Earth and perfect reunion with Christ. But I still struggle with impatience over not knowing how He will bridge where I’m currently at to that final, satisfying conclusion. But Job and the Psalms and the writings of Paul remind me to be patient, to know that He is God. Unlike me with some of the murky middle of my stories, God has no questions about what will happen next. He’s got it all perfectly outlined, perfectly written. And so, I will choose to trust in the Lord and His perfect Authorship.