WAITING ON THE YES!

By Sherry Shindelar, Author of Texas Forsaken

I have been in love with stories since I was a child. I’d swing for hours on my swing set, pumping my legs back and forth, dreaming up stories in my head. Even then I had a flair for romance: creating new love interests and episodes for Star Trek’s Captain Kirk, before moving onto plotting original romantic dramas and adventures in distant lands.

Photo by Stefan Cosma on Unsplash

My favorite possession at age nine was a set of author playing cards (a matching game with photos of famous women authors). I wanted to be an author when I grew up and bring stories to life on the written page, stories that would impact my readers.

The journey to publication has been long and bumpy, a little too much like the hiking trail I went on a couple months ago in Palo Duro Canyon. However, God has been faithful, and He has been with me every step of the way. 

Photo by Simon Infanger on Unsplash

Last summer, when I received the email with the three-book contract offer from Wild Heart Books, I was sitting in the backyard of my childhood where the swing once sat. How perfect of Lord to answer my prayer right there in that place.

Of course, I was too afraid of another "no" to open the email. I read the subject line and closed my computer. It took two days before I gathered my courage enough to read the email and saw that the Lord had answered my prayers beyond my expectations!

I'm so thankful that God is patient with us. Sometimes when He opens a door, we just stand there or look the other way, afraid to go in. Last spring, I was ready to put my book aside, after one too many no's from literary agents who loved my writing but told me my plot or time periods were too risky at the moment. But the Lord worked through my writing friends and other circumstances to nudge me to finish my proposal and hit "send." 

Photo by Drew Farwell on Unsplash

Sometimes, it seems as if our dreams will never come true or that our prayers will never be answered with a "yes." But sometimes, the Lord is saying wait. Wait for His perfect timing. Look at how many years Joseph spent in the Egyptian prison, or how many years David fought for his life between the time he was anointed and when he became king.

Let us not be afraid to walk out of the prison or dance into Jerusalem.

P.S. The Lord answered another prayer, too. I’d prayed that one of my books would be published while my mother was still alive because she’s always believed in me as a writer. Last week, I mailed her a copy of the book! She’s lost most of her sight, but my brother is going to read it to her.

Originally from Tennessee, Sherry loves to take her readers into the past. A romantic at heart, she is an avid student of the Civil War and the Old West. When she is not busy writing, she is an English professor working to pass on her love of writing to her students. Sherry is an award-winning writer: 2023 Genesis finalist, Maggie finalist, and Crown finalist. She currently resides in Minnesota with her husband of thirty-nine years.  Texas Forsaken, the first book in her Lonestar Redemption series, released May 2024. 

You can learn more about Sherry and Texas Forsaken at

https://sherryshindelar.com/