R and I

R and I
Wednesday, April 24, 2019 by JULIE COSGROVE

PLEASE WELCOME

JULIE COSGROVE

DEVOTIONAL WEDNESDAY

For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. Matthew 6:21

I love word twists. Twists are words that have the same letters, just in a different order. I don't know if other languages have as many as English does, but they always get my brain churning. The following two words caught my attention because when rearranged, they mean totally opposite things —

RETIRED
RETRIED

One backs away and quits, the other rolls up the sleeves and gives it another go.

It all depends on where you put the “R” and the “I”.

So, what are the “R” and “I”?

I see them as Reason and Interest. Those are the two things that drive us to continue the road we are on or to choose another path. Whatever holds your interest, for whatever reason, will dictate your involvement. When your interest loses its reason, you give up. But when the reason sparks your interest, you keep trying.

Looking at the verse above (also found in Luke 12:34), I had to ask myself what do I treasure? What piques my interest? What is my passion? And what is the reason that it does?

Recently I have been re-evaluating if I should continue to do what I have been doing. Since most of what I do is writing for Christians, and trying to make a living at it, I questioned if my doubts were from God or the devil. Was God closing a door, or was it being pushed by my flesh? Should I concentrate on my regular job and ask for a raise or continue to divide my time between my occupation and my passion? Not that I take much stock in astrology, but I’ve been really acting like a Gemini lately. One foot in two worlds.

Courtesy of Pixaby.com free photos

provided by Julie Cosgrove

So, I prayed. Should I retire from this keyboard or try again? I then prayed for the reason I write to re-spark my interest. Which, I guess, revealed my heart, and partially, my answer. Perhaps the fact that I am writing this gives you a clue. If God was using a twist in letters to get my attention, well, that was reason enough to try again. My publisher agreed. So, a new novel, Fallen Leaf, is about to be released May 7th and another, my fifteenth in eight years, is already turned in with a release date of next February.

The lesson? If you have doubts or want confirmation you are on the right path, ask God. He doesn't mind. Then look in unusual places for the answer. He just might have a twist for you, too.

Oh, and by the way, I got the raise without even asking, which gives me more security while I continue to pursue my passion.

ABOUT JULIE COSGROVE: Besides being an award-winning author of over a dozen novels, Julie is also a digital missionary with The Life Project, a division of CRU Canada. That means her job is to edit and write articles as well as manage twenty-six other writers for several faith-based websites. For more information on her blog, Where Did You Find God Today? with readership in over fifty countries, her ministry, or her books, log onto www.juliebcosgrove.com.

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