Every so often, I have the opportunity to
meet with a group of friends to share our triumphs, our trials, and to
reminisce about moments in our past. These “waiting to exhale” moments are
important. It is during those times that I get to take a break from everyday
demands and truly enjoy the company of friends. It was during one of these
get-away moments that I came up with the concept for
Be Careful What You Pray For.
Although this particular group have been
friends for a great number of years, and have many common interests, our
backgrounds, opinions, attitudes, and status levels are very diverse.
At this particular gathering,
relationships were the hot topic of discussion. We laughed and, in some
instances, cried about some of our wild relationship experiences. The
interaction and bond between all of the women was so moving that it
generated the idea to create a story about what happens when we rush God and
ask him to give us something we ourselves are not ready to receive.
We often quote the scripture, “Ask and you
shall receive,” but we often overlook the part that God requires of us in
order to receive.God wants to give us the desires of our hearts, but we often
forget what He desires of us.
“Dwell in Me, and I will dwell in you. Just
as no branch can bear fruit of itself without abiding in the vine, neither
can you bear fruit unless you abide in Me.” ~ John 15:4
In writing my third novel, I was forced to
face and deal with many challenges. I learned that it’s important for our
prayers to line up with God’s word. Many times our prayers are off the mark
because we haven’t taken time to study the scriptures, or to nurture a
personal relationship with God and understand what He
really desires. Really
understanding and knowing God is a process. How long it takes for us to get
what He wants from us depends on the amount of time we are willing to devote
to building and nurturing that connection.
Sometimes our impatience gets in the way of
making sound decisions; especially if we’ve been waiting for a
long time. It is in those situations that we don’t want to give God
time to shape, mold, and perfect us for the desires we prayed about. But, it
can be a terrible thing to receive a blessing before we’re ready to handle
it.
In Be
Careful What You Pray For, the main character, Maya Richards,
experiences what happens when you pray for something out of desperation or
impatience. Though the story is not based on the life of any one person, I
chose some real-life scenes and situations, and combined them with fictional
elements to create a story that could be entertaining and reflective for
readers.
My hope for this novel is that women, and
men, of all ages will be blessed in some way and that they understand the
true value in waiting for the right relationship.
