T. Taylor Williams
Journalist Muskegon, MI
What is one situation or experience in your life where circumstances looked bleak, but God pulled you through?
"Revelations 12:11 says we overcome by the blood of the Lamb and the word of our testimony.
I want to share an experience I had with procrastination that was devastating.
Last fall, I shared a testimony at church about the powerful Christian writers conference I had attended. After that conference, I prayed for writing opportunities.
About a month later in October, I was hired by a man in Lansing to write a book about his grandparents, who live here in Muskegon.
I was thrilled, my first book deal!
The man was going to present it to his grandparents as a 65th anniversary present in November. It was going to serve as a family heirloom, he said.
Whoa. That’s when I started to feel some pressure. I’d never written a biography before, and it was particularly important that this be my best effort.
I interviewed the grandparents on two occasions, and they were a lovely couple. Both in their eighties, they'd grown up poor in rural West Michigan. They managed their finances well, and lived comfortably. I was impressed by their philanthropy and humility.
It was evident she loved her husband dearly, and he took good care of her. She was a bit frail, but feisty, nonetheless. When they described their high school years and courting, their memories were sharp.
The book was originally scheduled to be finished by November. I missed the deadline.
Then Christmas. Um, not yet. Perhaps after the holidays?
After New Year’s, there was still no book.
Then…I kept missing deadlines, making all sorts of excuses. On occasion I’d run into the grandfather. I wanted to duck him, and tried to avoid him, but we made small talk. I'd end the conversation with, “I’m still working on it. Don’t give up on me!”
I meant well, but it wasn’t getting done.
I didn’t know what my hangup was. I meet deadlines everyday for a living. But I was so afraid of not writing something good, or that the family would be disappointed, that I didn’t write at all.
Spring rolled around, and I was embarrassed that it had taken so long. I apologized, and asked to have until mid-April. The man who hired me, along with his wife, said ok. They were so patient.
I'd held them off yet again. I was “safe” for the time being, and thought I'd bought more time.
Then the unthinkable happened. The grandmother I was to write about passed away.
When I found out, I couldn’t believe it. I thought, 'No! Please! I need just a little more time.'
But there was no more time for her. I would not get another interview with her in her home. She would not get the opportunity to tell me if I had made an error in my writing their story. She would not see the finished book.
As if it couldn’t get any worse, the couple who hired me asked if I could just give them what I had so far so they could use the information for the funeral.
I couldn’t give what I didn’t have.
I want to leave you with the word of the Lord. Proverbs 3:28 says, “Do not say to your neighbor, “Come back later; I’ll give it tomorrow” when you now have it with you.”
Here are a couple of the lessons I had to learn the hard way:
* Fear can be paralyzing, and can stop you from moving forward.
* Our word is all we have. Do what you say you are going to do.
* You might get away with procrastinating or putting something off for awhile, but you never know when it will catch up with you.
Time is not promised. We all have the same 24 hours in a day.
It is what we do with it that counts.
If you have asked the Lord for something, or He has assigned you to do a task, please do not delay. I learned the hard way. I am still overcoming, still working on myself. I finished the book just in time for Father's Day, and was able to give the family audio copies of the interview. It was the least I could do.
I will try not to dwell on what could have been.
I am moving forward slowly, but at least, through the grace of God, I am moving."
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