Not At This Address

As I read the phone text from my literary agent that another publishing house had decided not to go with my book proposal, my mind instantly went to a quote by Barbara Kingsolver that I had written down a few months before.

“This manuscript of yours that has just come back from another editor is a precious package. Don’t consider it rejected, consider that you’ve addressed it ‘to the editor who can appreciate my work’ and it has simply come back stamped ‘not at this address’. Just keep looking for the right address.”

It’s this quote that stopped my over-sensitive, over-thinking, creative mind from spiralling down, yet another anxiety-induced black hole that would have caused me to battle once again with overwhelming thoughts. Thoughts that say I am hopelessly out of my depth and completely unqualified for this calling to write. It’s this kind of thinking that gets fragile writers into trouble and can crush those tiny fragments of confidence which we have carefully collected along the winding and perilous path toward becoming published authors.

It’s in these times that I am reminded again of Mary, the mother of Jesus, as she searched for a room in Bethlehem.  She must have battled with discouragement as every single door her husband, Joseph, knocked on to find a room, was shut in their faces. She would have fought off doubt when every single innkeeper told them, “not at this address” as she felt each birth pang build to the point of wanting to push out her baby. However, Mary knew she had to keep going, she had to keep believing she was going to find the right address.

‘…the time came for her to give birth. She gave birth to a son, her firstborn. She wrapped him in a blanket and laid him in a manger because there was no room in the hostel.’ Luke 2:6-7 (MSG)

Mary’s precious package of a son was going to be rejected and unappreciated by many. A precious package that was addressed, ‘to the follower who can appreciate the work My Father has sent Me to do.’

You know, God isn’t looking for the most qualified writer or the most talented, He’s looking for the most available one, the one who sits at His feet and learns His ways. The one who tells Him, “Yes, you have come to the right address!”

And while we’re on the subject of proposals, Brit Eaton points out, “Time spent with God is even more important than what you’re creating together”. When I said “yes” to His dangerous proposal which was to leave the security of my full-time job and run away and write for Him, I can honestly say that I have had the most wonderful, deeply moving moments with God over the past year since He proposed the idea to start co-creating with Him.

Time spent with God. I mean, real, honest time spent with God, has helped me to finally understand that this new path that He has carved out from all the stones that littered those dead-end roads I’ve had been down over the years, is exactly where He wants me to be. Along this newly paved path, I have understood that it’s ok to learn from other writers but not to compare myself to them. As my friend keeps reminding me, “you do you” which is good advice when you keep measuring yourself with other creatives.

And if it hadn’t been for the hour upon hour of working so hard, writing thousands and thousands of words, I’d say that this past year has become a sabbatical for me, a season where I discovered a sense of peace within myself just as much as I discovered a sense of peace in my relationship with God.

So, dear friend, when your manuscript comes back from yet another editor, don’t consider it rejected, consider that you’ve addressed it ‘to the editor who can appreciate my work’ and it has simply come back stamped ‘not at this address’ because it’s moments like these that we choose to remember, Mary, the mother of Jesus, who received the same rejection before she gave birth to her promise. A precious package that changed the world.

Wendy xo

Some writers say they frame their rejection slips like a badge of honour; others give up writing altogether because it’s too hard. How do you cope with rejection and what have you learned about God, yourself and writing over this past year?

I would love to hear from you!