From Edie: Feeling behind as a writer? Discover biblical encouragement to trust God’s timing, embrace your calling, and move forward with confidence in your writing journey.
When You Feel Behind as a Writer: Trust God’s Timing and Your Calling
by Edie Melson @EdieMelson
Do you ever feel like you missed your chance?
Maybe you stepped away from writing for a season that quietly stretched into years. Perhaps you started a manuscript you never finished. You may have even watched others move forward—publishing books, building platforms, finding success—leaving you feeling stuck, stalled, or forgotten.
It could be life just happened. Life does tend to ambush us when we least expect it—responsibilities grow, priorities shift, and unexpected circumstances demanded all our energy. Then, when we look back at our writing goals, it feels like we’ve fallen so far behind we’ll never catch up.
I think most writers have stood in this place at one time or another.
But I’ve come to understand something important when that happens. Describing my circumstances as I’m behind is rarely accurate. At the very least, it’s never the whole picture.
Because with God, there’s always more going on than we can see.
A Lesson from an “In-Between” Season
An illustration was brought home to me on a trip to the Blue Ridge Mountains a few years ago.
We took a trip during what I assumed would be a dull, in-between time—too late for the vibrant blooms of summer and too early for the breathtaking colors of fall.
All I expected was a quiet, somewhat colorless season.
I couldn’t have been more wrong.
Instead of colorless, I found myself amazed by the variety of late-blooming flowers scattered across the landscape. Bright splashes of color appeared in unexpected places—along trails, tucked beside rocks, reaching up through tall grasses. The air carried the faint, sweet fragrance of blossoms I hadn’t expected to see at all.
The sunlight filtered through the trees in soft patches, illuminating flowers I might have missed if I’d been in a different season—or in a hurry.
It wasn’t the landscape I expected.
And it was beautiful.
As I looked at the beauty around me, God gently pressed a truth into my soul.
God’s Timing Isn’t Ours
Those wildflowers weren’t blooming late.
They were blooming exactly when they were created to bloom.
Some were part of a natural late-season cycle. Others had been influenced by their surroundings—protected by shade, sheltered from wind, or nourished in a way that shifted their timing.
But none of them were wrong or out of sync. None of them were behind. They were simply growing according to God’s design.
And as I stood there taking in the beauty—snapping pictures—I realized how often I measured my life, and my writing, against the wrong timetable.
I had been looking at my writing journey through the lens of my expectations.
God was inviting me to see it through the lens of His purpose.
The Lie We Believe as Writers
When we feel behind, we tend to believe certain things:
- I missed my opportunity.
- It’s too late for me to start again.
- If it was really God’s calling, it would have happened by now.
- Other writers are so far ahead—I’ll never catch up.
Those thoughts feel true, but they aren’t.
Romans 11:29 reminds us: “For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable.”
God doesn’t withdraw His calling on our lives because of delays, detours, or difficult seasons.
He doesn’t look at our lives and say, “Well, you didn’t meet the timeline, so I’ll find someone else.”
What He plants, He will use. Always.
What We Call Late, God May Call Preparation
There have been seasons in my own life when writing slowed—or even stopped.
At the time, it felt like failure. Looking back, I see something entirely different. I see preparation.
God was:
- Deepening my faith
- Expanding my understanding
- Teaching me lessons I could use in my writing
- Positioning me to reach people I couldn’t have reached earlier
What I saw as delay, God was using as development.
Because God never works in isolation.
He isn’t just shaping your writing—He’s shaping you. And He’s also preparing the people your words will one day reach.
Your Writing Is Not on Your Timeline
Just like those wildflowers in the mountains, our writing lives aren’t meant to follow a single, predictable schedule.
Some writers bloom early.
Others bloom later.
Some produce quickly.
Others grow slowly, deeply, quietly—until the right season arrives.
The danger comes when we compare our timeline to someone else’s.
Because comparison will always tell you you’re either:
- Too late
- Too slow
- Too far behind
God’s perspective is entirely different.
He sees:
- The unseen growth
- The quiet obedience
- The hidden preparation
- The timing that aligns not just your life—but the lives of those you will impact
What This Means for Us Today
If you feel behind in your writing, here’s what I want you to remember:
You are not behind.
You are not disqualified.
You are not forgotten.
You are in a season.
And God is at work in it.
So what do you do now?
- Return to the page. Even if it’s just a few words.
- Release the timeline. God is not asking you to catch up—only to be faithful.
- Pay attention to what He’s teaching you. That may become the very message you’re meant to share.
- Trust the process. What feels slow is often where the deepest roots are formed.
You don’t have to rush into bloom.
You just remain planted.
A Final Truth to Keep in Your Heart
When we allow our writing to bloom on God’s timetable, He uses it in ways we could never orchestrate ourselves.
He places our words in the right hearts, at the right time, for the right purpose.
We aren’t too late.
We aren’t off track.
We are being grown, prepared, and positioned.
And when the time is right, what God has planted will bloom—beautifully, purposefully, and exactly when it should.
TWEETABLE
She and husband Kirk have been married 44+ years with three grown sons and four grandchildren. They live in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains and can often be found with their big black dog hiking the mountains.
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