Write Your Book

 Kim M. Clark

The pixels on my computer screen taunted me. Looking over my manuscript that needed to be rewritten, again, I cried out to God. “This is too hard. You’ve called the wrong person to write this book. I don’t even know what a passive verb is!” Tears streamed down my cheeks. The task of writing, re-writing, and editing my soon-to-be-published book brought me to an ugly place. I had no idea how time-consuming, emotionally taxing, and exhausting it would be to write a book when I had first agreed to be God’s scribe.

 Silence.

 My shoulders slumped. I whimpered, “God, what if these words of comfort you’ve given me are only for me and my family and they’re not meant to be published? Maybe they were meant to console and help us lift our gaze to you as we walked through our trial? What if I heard you wrong, and I’m not meant to record your words in a book?”

The response from God: deeper stillness.

 I exhaled a loud, weary-laden sigh.

 Since first grade, I struggled with the task of putting together a string of words that made sense, let alone enticing the reader into my world with some sort of grammatical accuracy. The entire act of authoring a book was beyond my level of gifting and God seemed to be taking his time developing this skill in me.

 My spiritual tantrum continued. I dropped to my knees. “Okay, God, if you want me to finish this book, I NEED A SIGN, LIKE RIGHT NOW!” The thud of my fist pounding on the floor echoed my desperation.

 I heard the ding of an incoming email from my desk as an answer to my meltdown. Groaning, I lifted myself out of my emotional puddle and I looked at my screen in irritation. An email preview popped up.

 Tilting my head to one side, I read the blinking message.

 Wait, what did it say? That can’t be right… Disbelief flooded me.

 The subject line mocked me: “WRITE YOUR BOOK!”

 I burst out laughing. Somehow, for some reason beyond me, God was calling me to finish writing my book, despite how arduous the task.

 That day, I committed to become a published author, no matter the difficulty, strain, or work involved.  That day, I decided to truly be God’s scribe, no matter the physical, emotional, or spiritual drain or cost. That day, I fully submitted my writing to God.

 Since receiving that email, I finished and published my first book, Deep Waters: Lift Your Gaze, which is now a multiple-award-winning Amazon bestseller. My second book, Deep Waters: Lift Your Gaze 30-Day Devotional, came out in the spring of 2020, right along with COVID-19.

 In between the release of those two books, in obedience to the prompting of the Holy Spirit, I created a non-profit, Lift Your Gaze, where I share my message of hope with the incarcerated. Now thousands of both of my books (neither of which I thought I could write) are in prisons and jails across the U.S., proclaiming the Gospel and Hope of Jesus Christ.

 You might be wondering who sent that email that God used to convict and motivate me to finish my book. A life insurance company sent that email to encourage former brokers (like my husband and me) to “write their book of business.” It’s funny how God can use anything or anyone to accomplish his will even through his most unwilling and tearful servants.

 Permit me to implore you with the same message I received on that day: “WRITE YOUR BOOK.” You never know what God is going to do through it and through you.

Kim M. Clark is a multiple-award-winning author, publisher, and public speaker. She is also the founder of Lift Your Gaze (www.liftyourgaze.org) where she openly and unabashedly shares her message of hope with the incarcerated. She and her family live in the sunshine from the perpetual summer climate of Florida. Kim has run two marathons (with respectable times) despite the angry protest from her middle-aged knees. You can reach her directly at  kim@kimmclark.com.