Is It Just My Imagination?

with guest R. A. Douthitt.

“That’s not how I imagined it would be…”

Have you ever said this or heard someone else say it? I attended the ACFW Writer’s Conference in Dallas, TX back in September and heard a few writers say this over the 4-day conference. Basically, what they meant was that just because they were published (some with 3 book deals with a well-known traditional publisher), the writing life didn't turn out like they had imagined it would. I wanted to blog about how "life" in general may not look like we had imagined it would be and what we can do about that.

These authors made me think back to The Book of Ruth Bible study I was teaching at my work. Contentment is just one of the themes running through this book like threads of a tapestry. Naomi found herself alone in a foreign land with her daughters-in-law, desiring to head back to Bethlehem where she heard God had ended the famine. Only Ruth heads to Bethlehem with her. As a result, these two women take quite a risk traveling home to where things might not work out like they had hoped. 

Yet, we never hear Ruth complain. Naomi laments to her friends when she returns, which is only human, right? I mean, she had lost her husband and sons. But we never hear Ruth utter one complaint nor does she ever question Naomi’s intent. Ruth obeys, trusts, and hopes. I’m certain that if we asked Ruth, she would tell us that her life didn’t turn out like she had imagined it. She was a young widow now living far from home and family, trusting in God’s Law, her mother-in-law, and a total stranger for her well-being. Yet, not one complaint comes from her lips. 

Our imaginations are powerful, aren’t they? As writers, we rely on vivid imaginations! But sometimes what we imagine our writing journey to be might set us up for disappointment. I have a feeling that’s what happened to those writers I spoke with at the conference. I know I have imagined a literary agent signing me, finding an interested publisher, and selling my books for a nice advancement. Six years and eight books later, that vision still hasn’t come to fruition.

Putting all one’s hope into a detailed imaginary life is a theme of my Christmas book, “First Christmas in Paris,” based on a true story from our marriage. In the book, Rachel finds herself married and alone. Her married life isn’t off to the start she had always imagined it would be. As a result, her lack of contentment begins to taint her thinking. Sometimes we women tend to romanticize life too much: Our wedding day, honeymoon, 2.5 children, lovely house, and life ever after. If any of these life events don’t match our imagination, then we set ourselves up for disappointments unless we understand that God's plan is perfect and ours is flawed. Yet, each life event is only a thread in our tapestry.

 I have had the pleasure of walking through the Biltmore Estate in Asheville, North Carolina. This mansion is adorned with priceless art and tapestries. Each tapestry tells a story of some sort: a coronation of a king, peasants in the field, or Greek mythology. Set apart from the final product, each thread in the tapestry isn’t all that impressive. But put together, the tapestries are exquisitely detailed. And so it is with our lives. Put together, the threads that make up our life tapestries can tell quite a powerful story. 

Where's the hope in all of these musings? God’s word.

As the perfect author, God gives us two characters hit hard with inciting incidents that would probably make most people give up. In this story, God gave us a lovely tapestry to admire in Naomi and Ruth when our own lives disappoint. As a little girl, I had imagined my wedding day in vivid detail. I had seen “The Sound of Music”, and fell in love with the wedding scene. So, when my wedding day plans were rudely interrupted by the United States Marine Corps, I was not a happy bride-to-be. Twenty-nine years later, now my writing journey isn’t how I had imagined it would be. I lost my older sister to cancer followed by the passing of my mom five months later. Now, family and the holidays aren’t how I imagined they would be. 

So, where’s the hope? Do I give up when things don’t make sense? Do I give in to disappointments?

No. I look back to Ruth’s excellent example in God’s word: Trust and obey even when things don’t make sense. Ruth put all her hope in the God of Naomi, a God whom she had never seen. She hoped that Naomi had her best interests in mind. She trusted in Boaz who had shown good character. And the result of all this trusting and hoping in the unseen and unknown? Contentment. God gave her restoration through a loving husband of integrity. 

Ruth, a Gentile woman, is part of the lineage of our Savior, Jesus.  We speak of her excellent example over three thousand years later. What an honor! Ruth’s tapestry is almost beyond compare. 

How do we want to be remembered: Lacking contentment even when we are obviously blessed? Or content no matter what our circumstances are?

“But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.” Matthew 6:33 

“…while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen; for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal.” 2 Corinthians 4:18

Even if our writing journey doesn't look like we had imagined it would we must go by faith and not by sight. If we go by sight (comparing our writing journeys to the journeys of others) we will live in disappointment, struggle with contentment, and lose hope. But if we trust in God and His perfect plan, then we have hope in Him. Only then will we be able to write about that hope and contentment in our stories.

And, in the end, isn’t that the reason we are writing our stories anyway? Yes, learn to be content so that you can write about that contentment in your stories.

 And your life will finally become all that you had imagined it will be in Christ. 

So, how can you be more content with what God has given you and how can you show contentment through your stories? 

Seekerville is giving away an ecopy of First Christmas in Paris in honor of Ruth's visit. Leave a comment to enter. Winner announced in the Weekend Edition.

First Christmas in Paris

It’s Thanksgiving 1988, and Rachel receives a call from her husband of only five months asking her to meet him in Paris at Christmas. But because he is stationed on an aircraft carrier, she won’t be able to speak to him again until face-to-face in the hotel lobby. Hopeless romantic Rachel flies to Paris to reunite with her Marine husband and if everything goes according to plan, Rachel and Denton will experience their first Christmas in Paris. If not, Rachel might find herself wandering the rainy streets of Paris alone. Before cell phones, faxes, and the internet, can a couple of newlyweds connect in Paris for a once-in-a-lifetime Christmas together?

Ruth Douthitt is an award-winning author of books for middle-grade readers. Her Christmas novella, “First Christmas in Paris,” is based on a true story and was released this month. Next year she plans on releasing “Leaving Eden,” a women’s inspirational novel about a war correspondent returning to small-town life after the Iraq War. Ruth illustrates her children’s books and also teaches women’s Bible studies. She lives in sunny Phoenix, AZ with her husband of 29 years and their little fat dog. 

Connect with her on Facebook and on her website.