Dormant Gifts and the Great Awakening

Dormant Gifts and the Great Awakening
Friday, March 15, 2024 by Heather Thompson

PLEASE WELCOME

HEATHER THOMPSON

Author and Bondservant to Christ

FICTION FRIDAY

STORY BEHIND THE STORY

I believe that from conception, God bestowed upon each one of us innate gifts that He wants to use for His Kingdom; this is different than what God calls us to when we’re older. But we are born with our gifts, and they are often passed down through generational lines. Or our gifts can be entirely new based on God’s purposes for our lives.

For this blog, we will focus on one gift I feel God gave me at birth - writing. And, of the gifts God has given me writing has been the most attacked by the enemy from childhood to adulthood.

Writing is a form of communication. And thanks to my older brother, I have been communicating since I was an infant. My entire life has been filled with words. Words are fascinating and ever-changing. What a word meant in one generation means something entirely different in the next.

When we are children, we stumble onto our gifts and then try to work them out. This is usually the time when harsh words and bullies do the most damage. We are free and naïve as children, telling the truth and not caring until we are ridiculed for our gifts. Sometimes, we view setbacks as God closing a door and abandoning the gift at a young age.

This happened with my writing.

But the funny thing about God is that He doesn’t work linearly, He hops around space and time because – well – He made it and He can. “He declares the end from the beginning, and ancient times from what is still to come…” (Isaiah 46:10). So He’s not too concerned with our clock – that He made…for us… but I digress.

The year 2020 caught everyone off guard and in some cases destroyed once stable homes. My home was one of them. In July of 2020, I, along with 40% of my workforce, was laid off. But then, I couldn’t get another job if I wanted to – and believe me, I tried. But the doors closed repeatedly.

Then one day, that gift I had abandoned due to torment and ridicule woke up, quite abruptly.

Within fifteen minutes I had the entire outline of my first novel, then had the first five chapters written in about two weeks. It was the easiest thing I had ever written. According to other writers, working that fast isn’t normal.

But see, that dormant gift had to go through a great awakening. And the only way it could have been awakened in 2022 is by God allowing me to do nothing but write... Like literally, I couldn’t do anything else. And it still took me two years to listen to Him.

What I learned in my writing journey is that there are gifts inside all of us – gifts we’ve had since birth that God is waiting to awaken.

My novel, Stillwater, is the tangible proof that God never gives up on any of us, even when we give up on ourselves. I gave up writing fiction when I was young because I was convinced that I would never be any good – and maybe I’m not – but so long as God has His hand on something He won’t let us run away until He has completed the good work. And that is an encouraging thought.

ABOUT HEATHER THOMPSON

Heather Thompson is a debut author with her first book Stillwater, a supernatural faith-based fiction novel, meeting rave reviews. She has spent more than a decade as a communications professional, and more recently has worked as a youth pastor. Thompson holds a Bachelor’s in English from Kennesaw State University and a Master’s in Strategic Public Relations from George Washington University. She lives in Georgia with her horses, cats, and dog. Learn more about Thompson here.

www.heatherthompsonbooks.com

www.facebook.com/heatherthompsbooks

www.instagram.com/heathertbooks

www.goodreads.com/book/show/203835765-stillwater

www.tiktok.com/@heatherthompsonbooks

ABOUT STILLWATER

Stillwater is a supernatural faith-based novel following Harriet Gordon through her faith journey of doubt, redemption, and discovery as the war between angels and demons rage. Join unique characters and epic battle scenes in the book Literary Titan called “unpredictable and engaging” from beginning to end.

Buy Link and more information:

www.heatherthompsonbooks.com/books/

Share This Blog: