A Season of Preparation by Nina Faye Morey

Forget the former things;

do not dwell on the past.

See, I am doing a new thing!

Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?

I am making a way in the wilderness

and streams in the wasteland.

~Isaiah 43:18-19 (NIV)

In the dead of winter, snow blankets the landscape from horizon to horizon. There is no evidence of any flora budding, growing, or maturing in this vast winter wasteland. The prairie appears to lie silent and dormant. However, don’t be fooled. Winter is actually a season of preparation, when trees, grass, and various plants get ready to spring up anew once the strong sunshine, warm weather, and bubbling streams return. Plant life needs to hibernate beneath its warm winter blanket in order to gather strength to withstand the storms that will inevitably arrive with the new seasons of growth and harvest.

The coming of the New Year, which in our part of the world comes in the dead of winter, is also typically a time of preparation and renewal when people set new goals for the upcoming year. Hopefully, this time of preparation will help us grow stronger so we can withstand any upcoming storms and handle whatever future God has in store for us.

My Personal & Faith Life: Preparations & Prayers

As the New Year begins, I find myself living in a state of uncertainty and apprehension. There are ominous signs on the horizon of an impending storm that could wash away familiar roads, leaving me to tread a solitary path through the wilderness. I pray this storm passes me by, leaving my familiar landscape unscathed. Despite my fears, I am comforted by the knowledge that God holds my future in His hands. Therefore, I will prepare for whatever may come my way by continuing to pray and to place my trust in Him. I will take reassurance from His promise to be with me, strengthen me, and take me by the hand and bear me up in times of trouble.

So do not fear, for I am with you;
Do not be dismayed, for I am your God.

I will strengthen you and help you;

I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.

~ Isaiah 41:10

My Writing & Editing Life: Preparations & Plans

I’ve planned a few changes and set some new goals for my writing and editing life this year. As some of you already know, I will be stepping down as editor-in-chief of FellowScript following the publication of the May issue. However, I am preparing to take on a new challenge, serving as the managing editor for InScribe’s 2021 anthology, Easter: Stories & More. I am excited to be taking on this new role, and I look forward to working with our InScribe family of talented writers and editors and to helping the InScribe Press Committee put together another inspiring anthology.

I am also preparing to devote more time to my own writing. I hope to finish revising the draft of my romance novel and to publish a collection of my published work (along with a few unpublished pieces). While I’ve loved serving as FellowScript’s editor-in-chief and feel fortunate to have done so, my work on these books has dwindled to a mere trickle. Hopefully, I’ll be more successful at juggling my new editorial commitments with my own writing goals this year.

Also, in addition to posting monthly on this blog, my plan for the upcoming year is to publish a weekly post on my own blog, Writer Ink Well. However, I confess I’ve already missed that target. I especially enjoy interviewing fellow writers for my blog, and I plan to also offer opportunities to guest post. If you’re willing to be interviewed or you’d like to write a guest post for my blog, please feel free to contact me.

Those are the preparations and plans I’ve made for this year. What preparations have you made and what have you planned for 2020?

Nina Faye Morey is a Canadian writer, editor, blogger, and speaker. She’s had fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and art published in a variety of journals. She’s also contributed to two InScribe anthologies: 7 Essential Habits of Christian Writers (2015) and Christmas: Stories and More (2017). Nina’s served as columns editor for InScribe’s FellowScript magazine and is currently the editor-in-chief. When she’s not writing, she enjoys reading, walking, travelling, and spending time with family.