When God Changes Your Plans

Hi friends. Dana R. Lynn here. As I am typing this post, the temperatures here in northwestern Pennsylvania have dropped to well below zero in what the news reporters are terming an "arctic blast". All the schools in the area have closed. Some have even already decided that they will be closed the next day, as well.  This is the view out my kitchen window. Brrr.

When I first heard all the schools were starting to close, I was still at work in a classroom. I recall looking around at the mound of papers surrounding me that I was working on. My first thoughts were, "But I have meetings planned!"

Silly, right?

But that's the way life is. Sometimes the things we plan are not what God has planned. It's not always an easy lesson to learn. In keeping with my word and resolution for 2019, I decided to react with gratitude, and thanked God for keeping my family safe and that our wood pile was well stocked to heat our home. What else was there to do?

Sometimes the changes that God leads us to can bless us in ways we never expected. When I first began writing, I was all about contemporary romance. Except it soon became apparent that it wasn't my strength. Suspense, although I had never thought about it before, came much easier to me. When my editor at Love Inspired Suspense asked me about adding Amish elements into my stories, my first inclination was, "No, thank you."

The idea wouldn't let me go. For weeks, I tried to plot a story without success. It wasn't until I began to add some Amish secondary characters and scenery that the story began to take shape. Plain Target was plotted. To date, that was the book that was the easiest for me to write. It was joy from the first word.

Guess I should have paid attention sooner, right?

I wrote Plain Target, the first book in my Amish Country Justice series, in 2016 and it released in 2017. I recently completed my tenth book for Love Inspired Suspense, set to release in October of 2019. I can hardly believe it. And just this past week, I received my cover for my June release, Guarding the Amish Midwife. 

Wait, here it is: 

I love this cover. It is absolutely perfect for the story.

I have no idea where God will lead me in the future, either in writing or in life. I do know that His plans may not always feel "convenient". However, I also know that His plans will be for my better, and that if I allow Him to lead the way, I will find true joy.