A CHANGE OF COURSE

Have you ever thought your plans were all mapped out only to realize that the direction life is taking you is way off course? I think COVID did that to everyone 3 years ago. For some, things are right back to normal, but most of us had to forge a new path in a different direction–the one life was taking us in. As a teacher, my job changed dramatically. As a new author with Love Inspired Suspense in 2020, I had a lot of heartache to bear. But 3 years later, God has shown me blessings that I never could’ve imagined. Am I where I thought I would be? No, but I believe God has led me right where I am supposed to be.

My First Sale

In 2019, I was a first grade teacher. I had been writing for about twenty years and had sold 2 novellas to a small publishing company. But people don’t take authors too seriously unless they have a REAL book. Like a paperback that they can actually hold in their hands. My ultimate dream was to one day sell to Love Inspired Suspense. When they opened a contest in 2019, I quickly got a submission together for a book I was working on, thinking nothing more than the feedback would be really great to have. And then I got THE EMAIL! Emily Rodmell asked me to call her so she could offer me a contract. My first LIS was Accidental Target. My book was set to release in August 2020. I couldn’t wait to see it sitting on the shelf at Barnes & Noble. I was FINALLY a real author.

Not What I Expected

Well, we all know what happens next. COVID hit. People were at home, bookstores weren’t scheduling signings, and writing conferences were canceled. It was a quiet new release if there ever was one. However, I did what I could online to promote my new book and shared it with friends and family. I was blessed with many good reviews and I still have people compliment me on how much they enjoyed reading it. But while I was waiting on my book to release, my teaching job was getting flipped upside down. I was forced to teach online to finish out the school year. When we went back in 2020, I was forced to teach hybrid. While I was very tech savvy, it was still a challenge. But for myself students, it was one I was willing to embrace. What I soon realized was that I was very dedicated to making sure students were well-prepared to get an education in the technology-rich world they are growing up in. The face of education was evolving and I became very passionate about making sure teachers were evolving with it. This is where my path soon began to change.

Fork in the Road

Fast forward to the end of 2022. I had wrapped up the prior year of teaching hybrid, been selected by my district to be on an EdTech Cohort to work with teachers on my campus using educational technology, and was given a new position to teach Gifted and Talented second graders. My job was taking over my life. My writing, no matter how hard I tried, was dying on the vine. I had no ideas worthy of writing. It was as if my muse had packed up and left. Probably frustrated because I was too tired to write from teaching. No matter how much I wanted to continue selling books, I couldn’t. So I prayed about it. The answer wasn’t what I expected.

As much as it hurt my heart, I knew God was telling me I needed to focus on my career. I had been called to be a teacher since I was a little girl, playing “school” in my bedroom with my stuffed animals. When I accepted that the writing was something I could come back to, I resigned myself to letting it go—for now. Then I enrolled graduate school.

What’s Next?

I honestly don’t know because God is in control. I graduate with a Master’s in Applied Digital Learning in a couple months and after that, I hope to get back to working on a book to send to Love Inspired Suspense. I hope to move my teaching career in a new direction where I work more with curriculum, technology, and helping teachers. The ONE thing I do know for sure is that God is going to use me, and the talents he gave me, to do His work. If you ever find yourself not knowing why life is changing on you or fretting over plans that go awry, always remember that God has plans for you. Plans to use you, plans to prosper you. And He will never leave you.

For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare, and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. Jeremiah 29:11

To learn more about Digital Learning and Blended Learning, visit my website at BlendedElementary.com.