LOST DONKEYS---By Christine Lindsay

You’ve heard the phrase, ‘cast your bread upon the waters and wait for it to come back to you’.

Well how about the one, ‘looking for lost donkeys’?

Nope? Never heard of that one?

Lately I’ve been testing the waters to see what direction I should take with my writing career. Not being independently wealthy I need to bring in an income. I know, I know, you’ve heard me whine about financial difficulties before, but debut novels don't sell a whole lot. Well we all have our crosses to bear. Ooops, there’s another well-worn phrase.

Thing is, we all have our stresses. And we all reach crossroads at frequent intervals where we have to make decisions----will I go in that direction . . . or in this direction?

Right now I’m prayerfully trying to decide if I should search for a full-time job outside the home which would mean I lose out on the time it would take to write another book. Or if I continue to write, it may mean more years of financial strain.

So last week I put out a number of resumes at various jobs, and I sent out a new book proposal to an agent. My fingers drum the table, which one of these diametrically different ventures will be my 'ship coming in'?

You may be looking for a job, deciding on what college to attend. Asking yourself, what should you focus on for a career. Should you stay at your current job or apply to other places? Perhaps your health is an issue? Or maybe you're like me, should you keep persevering to have a writing career?

There’s an incident in the life of Saul that each time I read it, gives me comfort. The young Saul had no idea that God had chosen him to be the first king of Israel. He just figured he was an ordinary guy whose father was a farmer and owned a string of donkeys. One day those donkeys went missing, and Saul’s father sent him out to look for them.

Saul travelled through various areas, the hill country of Ephraim, passed through the land of Shalishah, etc., etc., etc. He looked for ages and all over the place. Saul could not find those donkeys.

I can connect with Saul’s long and unfruitful search for those financially-strategic donkeys.

Funny thing is, God used that long and winding search to bring Saul to the prophet Samuel. The Lord had already revealed to Samuel that He had chosen Saul to be that first king. As Samuel unveiled this to Saul, he also told him that the donkeys he was searching for had been found and were already at home, and that God had a totally new direction for his life.

God knows which of those job resumes or if that book proposal is meant to be. I'm going to sit back and trust that He will safely bring home my lost donkey.

When you’re unclear about what direction to take in your life, or it seems that every iron you place in the fire doesn't get hot enough to provide for you, or you’re not sure which direction to cast your bread on the water, remember that God knows exactly where your lost donkeys are.


The story of Saul and the lost donkeys is found in I Samuel 9

To purchase Christine Lindsay's Award-winning debut novel, click here on Shadowed in Silk.

Or drop by her website, www.christinelindsay.com