Blown and Tossed by the Wind | Melanie Dobson

Enter below for a chance to win a copy of Melanie Dobson’s new book, The Courier of Caswell Hall

Twenty years ago I graduated from Regent University in Virginia, ready to embark on a career in journalism. I began sending out dozens of resumes to newspapers across the country, and a stack of rejection letters accumulated in the tiny bedroom I rented from a girlfriend. I needed to get a job right away, but didn’t know what else to do. Fear began to overwhelm me as I continued to send out these resumes, and I felt as if I might implode from the anxiety.

A friend’s parents owned an old home along the James River, and I escaped there one weekend. Just like Lydia Caswell in my latest novel, The Courier of Caswell Hall, I sat under the shade of a tree, overlooking the wide river and sought wisdom from God. I desperately needed direction, but wasn’t sure which way to turn.

Leaning back against that tree, I opened my Bible to the book of James since I was sitting along the James River. This is what I read:

If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you. But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. That person should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. Such a person is double-minded and unstable in all they do.

I stared at the words of James in awe. I was the one lacking wisdom, the one being blown and tossed by the wind, scattered and unstable as I floundered about in my search for a job. That morning along the river, God spoke directly to me and put an incredible peace in my heart. “Trust me,” he seemed to whisper when I asked Him for wisdom. And so I decided to trust.

I returned to my little room in Virginia Beach, but this time I stopped throwing resumes to the wind. I began a slow, deliberate, prayerful search for a job and less than a month later, God opened the door for the perfect position for me. A job in Colorado (where I had always wanted to live), working with an organization I loved. I remained in awe. Looking back, I now see clearly why I had to wait and most of all, why I had to learn to trust Him and His timing.

Last year I had the opportunity to return to the James River to research for The Courier of Caswell Hall. As I visited the old plantation homes with my daughter, God reminded me of His faithfulness over the past two decades. I don’t always understand the way He works, but I’m so grateful that in the midst of chaos and confusion, I can ask Him for the gift of wisdom. And He gives it generously every time, without finding fault.

Are you being blown and tossed by the wind? @MargaretMcSweeney @MelanieDobson
Click To Tweet

Are you new here? You might want to subscribe to my email updates or follow me on Facebook.

MELANIE DOBSON is the award-winning author of twelve novels, including eight historical romances for Summerside Press. In 2011, Melanie won ACFW Carol Awards for The Silent Order and Love Finds You in Homestead, Iowa, and in 2010, Love Finds You in Liberty, Indiana, was chosen as the Best Book of Indiana (fiction).

Melanie is the former corporate publicity manager at Focus on the Family, and she worked in public relations for fifteen years before she began writing fiction full time. Born and raised in the Midwest, she has lived all over America, including eight years in Virginia—Lynchburg, Chesapeake, Norfolk, Virginia Beach, and Richmond. Now she resides with her husband and two daughters near Portland, Oregon. Read more at MelanieDobson.com.