The Lord put stories in my head. He also put a calling on my heart to get those stories to people who needed to hear them. As with most things in life, He doesn’t give us much of a “long-range plan,” so I just had to go day by day, trusting that I was obeying His guidance and giving out His truth in my fictional stories. And believing that He would get His words into the hands and hearts He desired them to reach.
When I initially felt God’s call to write a novel, there was no doubt about the title. My life’s verse is Proverbs 3:5, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding.” So, my first book, which at first glance is about a young girl facing an excruciating decision, is actually about her ultimate decision to fully trust the One who made her.
But as God walked me through that book and into the next (a complete surprise to me), it became clear that the second book needed to be about rebuilding relationships, just as Nehemiah rebuilt the wall. Book two’s key verse is Nehemiah 9:17, “But You are a God ready to forgive, gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, and did not forsake them.” And in that verse, the Lord mended lives in ancient Israel, in the fictional town of my book, and in my own life. His truth never wanes and never fails.
God did not forsake me, even when I thought the second book was the end of my story-telling. He showed me very clearly that there was more to tell. The author of the ancient book of Hebrews wrote, “Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.” (Hebrews 11:1) I’ve watched God miraculously grow my faith over the years. I’ve marveled at how some of the “giants” in faith could be so assured and steadfast, standing firm on God’s promises and commands without so much as a glimpse of His magnificent glory. Such faith!
Only God could have taken these seemingly disconnected verses and a novice writer and spun them into characters, a fictitious town, and a story. Only He could have given me the perfect name of the place around which all of the action centers: a pregnancy care home established in the 1960s named Together for Good, based on the sweet and grounding truth that Paul penned centuries ago.
And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to His purpose. (Romans 8:28)
And so, from the foundation of God’s love working all things together for good, He allowed me to tell of the beauty of trusting Him in All Your Heart, show the peace of receiving and offering forgiveness in Ready to Forgive, and feature characters’ faith as they navigate trials of the world in What We Don’t See.
To Him be the glory.
LeighAnne Clifton recently published her third novel, a newly-discovered artistic outlet for an author who spent most of her career as an engineer. After meeting, while both earning their degrees in chemical engineering at the University of South Carolina, LeighAnne and her husband Bill married and settled in Aiken, South Carolina. Both recently retired and are pursuing some of the things they’ve been putting off for some time (like yard work, home improvement projects, and travel). They have two grown children, a son-in-law, and a pair of spoiled cats. They currently serve in their church on Sunday mornings teaching third graders.
What We Don’t See is the third in the Together for Good series, and it follows the characters readers grew to love in All Your Heart and Ready to Forgive.
She shares her thoughts on Christian living, DIY projects, and the latest book news on her blog.
LeighAnne has plans to continue chronicling the characters’ lives in her fictional small Southern town in the next series, which is currently in progress. LeighAnne is a member of the American Christian Fiction Writers (ACFW), writes a monthly blog, and guests on podcasts and blogs. You can find her books at Pen It Publications or on Amazon.