Exhausted after claiming a few shredded hours of sleep, I dropped into my seat on the airplane and briefly greeted my seatmate. I settled in and before long, I conked out. The clanking of the service cart awakened me. The flight attendant asked if I'd like something to drink. Groggily I ordered a 7up to calm my stomach and then glanced at my seatmate. I realized she looked familiar. It took me a moment but then her name popped into my mind.

"Is your name Ginny?"

"Yes!" Her eyes widened as she looked at me.

"I think we went to college together."

Sure enough. Ginny and I had lived on the same floor our freshman year and had been in a service group our sophomore year. Time had changed her a bit, but not much. I should have recognized her. With our new realization, the conversation quickly changed to personal interests as we caught up on the past thirty plus years. How quickly our plane ride went and when we parted, we promised to reconnect once we got home.

Several weeks later, I reached out to Ginny. We met a few days later in a quaint coffee house. As we picked up on our conversation, we soon learned we both loved to write. Ginny suggested we meet in a month and bring back a written piece to share with one another. It had been years since I'd written and published my first book. Writer’s block was an understatement but still, perhaps if I put my mind to it, the rusty gears of creativity might return.

When our next meeting time arrived, I felt a bit giddy with my newly written piece tucked into my purse. After ordering our hot tea, we found a quiet corner in the coffee shop. Exchanging our writings felt safe. There was a sense of freedom in finally getting something past my brain and onto paper. After sharing our thoughts, we agreed to meet again in a month to continue encouraging each other.

In the days that followed, God seemed to be nudging me more. I met a woman in the bookstore who wanted to start a book club. Then a very pregnant lady in the fabric store told me about a writer’s group. And my sister, completely out of the blue, suggested I consider writing a non-fiction book. Then Mom reminded me of something I had written in high school.

It was my devotional that really spoke to me: "Do not neglect the gift you have…"1 Timothy. 4:14 (ESV) Also: "As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace.” 1 Peter 4:10 (ESV). I could almost hear God whispering, "Are you hearing me?" I thought of the many things I'd written that were merely files on my computer. They were of no value if they remained there. Like an "I love you" never spoken and a song never sung, if I didn't share my writing in some format, they could never bring glory to God. So, I started writing blogs as well as a novel, as my sister suggested. That book, For The Children was published in 2017. This book, Awe God, is a culmination of the blogs which reflect moments in life when God’s hand was so evident, like that encounter on a plane to fan the flames to get back to writing.

So how about you? What's your gift? God gave you one to use for His honor and glory. I hope this book will serve as encouragement to get busy using and fine tuning that gift, for His glory.