Sunday, March 14, 2010

Deleted Dreams

Getting published. It was the furthest thing from my mind as I walked out to my mailbox last Friday.
But there it was.

I tore open the envelope and read the words "We are pleased to inform you that your devotion has been chosen to appear in the September/October 2010 issue of Devozine." Maybe as much as a year ago, I'd submitted a story to Devozine, a magazine for Christian teens. And here, many months later, I was getting word that my words would be in print.
After the initial excitement wore off, I realized that I didn't even remember what I'd submitted. I vaguely recall writing something about a mishap that my best friend Kelly and I had shared during our senior year, but I can't be sure. I even went into my documents file to look up what I'd sent...and then I said, "Ohhhhhhhh!" as I remembered what I'd done with it:
I had DELETED it!
A month or two ago, I was going through my computer files, deleting old or unnecessary files. I saw the document entitled "Devozine Submission" and thought, "Nothing's going to come of that" as I pressed the delete button.
So much time had passed that the possibility of getting published was no longer even on my radar--to the point that I felt no hesitation in deleting my copy of what was sent. I have been writing and submitting off and on for years, and I have several rejection letters taped up in a closet (all with the positive feedback highlighted on each so that I wouldn't be totally discouraged). It's never "happened" for me. And so I pressed delete.
Mary Beth Whalen tells of her own "Scribbled-On Dreams." She was jotting down ideas for a book in a spiral-bound notebook, but when the idea got shelved for a few years, she even let her young son scribble in the notebook. Five years later, the book was published, but she kept that scribbled-on notebook as a reminder that simply because WE have given up on our dreams, God may still intend for them to be realized.
So I'll wait until that September/October issue comes out to see what on earth I wrote! And in the meantime, I'll give thanks that my delete button can't thwart the plans of God. :)

2 comments:

  1. CONGRATULATIONS! I'm not being trite or flattering you when I say that I believe you will be MUCH published some day. God has given you a delightful perspective and a voice... Share!

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  2. I am so very happy for you! Even if you can't remember exactly what you wrote about, I know that you wrote truth, so now we ask that God would be preparing all of the teen hearts that will be reading that devotional. Oh, it makes me giddy just thinking about it! Congratulations!

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