When God Says "No"

By Amy R. Anguish

 

We all have plans. After all, from the time we can talk, we’re asked questions like “What do you want to be when you grow up?” and “Where do you see yourself in ten years?”

It’s ingrained in us.

And we think our plans are good, right? Otherwise, we’d change them.

But what do we do when God decides our plans aren’t what He wants for us?

Let’s all be honest here. If our plans were fulfilled, we’d all be best-selling authors, right? And while some of the beautiful writers here have achieved that, most of us are still working on it.

If all the plans my husband and I made had come true, I’d possibly still be living in Austin, Texas. Or at least have moved to Tennessee more than three years ago.

And I’d have a child about to be a teenager (I’m rather glad that plan didn’t pan out right now. My five-going-on-sixteen-year-old has enough sass for the here and now).

Instead, after only a few years in the Austin area, my husband lost his job. And instead of getting pregnant at twenty-five, I had to wait more than six years to be able to see those two lines on the pregnancy test.

I could be bitter about that. I could dwell on it and wish my life away, wanting the original plan instead of what I got.

But that’s a waste of time and energy. It won’t change anything. And it would take away the blessings I received because of going through all that.

Like the amazing friends we made in Tyler, Texas the six years we lived there. Like the closeness we gained in our marriage while we went through fertility treatments. Like the wonderful children we have now and the friends we have due to their children being the same age. And like the appreciation we have for my husband finally having the job he always wanted.

It’s not always easy to see the good that can come from what we consider a bad situation, but it’s there. And provides us with tons of good story fodder, too. Maybe that’s why in my new book, Saving Grace, my character Michelle has to deal with her plans not going exactly as she planned them. As she goes through the story, she has to realize that sometimes the plans we make for ourselves aren’t the best for our lives, and God has a better idea.

For a chance to win a copy of my book, leave a comment below. I’d love to hear of stories in your life when your plans didn’t work out exactly like you planned, but maybe had an even better result because of it.

Saving Grace...

What if saving Grace doesn’t mean what she thinks it does?

 

Michelle Wilson’s one goal in life was to become a top journalist at the local paper back in her hometown of Cedar Springs, AR. But on the way to bringing that dream to reality, a life-changing wreck interrupts Michelle’s plans and adds an orphaned baby into the mix. Now, she has tough decisions ahead—did God put her in that accident to save baby Grace? And if so, why is it so hard to convince everyone else she should be the baby’s new mommy?

Greg Marshall has been Michelle’s best friend his whole life. He’s thrilled she’s moving back home, but not so sure about her sudden desire to be a single mom. His feelings for her have grown through the years, but she’s never seemed to notice. Can he help Michelle with the adoption and grow their relationship at the same time?

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Amy R Anguish

Author of An Unexpected Legacy, Faith and Hope, and Saving Grace

Amy R Anguish grew up a preacher's kid, and in spite of having lived in seven different states that are all south of the Mason Dixon line, she is not a football fan. Currently, she resides in Tennessee with her husband, daughter, and son, and usually a bossy cat or two. Amy has an English degree from Freed-Hardeman University that she intends to use to glorify God, and she wants her stories to show that while Christians face real struggles, it can still work out for good.

 

Follow her at http://abitofanguish.weebly.com or http://www.facebook.com/amyanguishauthor

 Or https://twitter.com/amy_r_anguish

 

Learn more about my books at https://www.pinterest.com/msguish/my-books/

 

And check out the YouTube channel she does with two other authors, Once Upon a Page (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCEiu-jq-KE-VMIjbtmGLbJA)