When God Asks You to Pause

I had a plan.

Actually, I had a really good plan.

This year I was going to finish the final four books in the Paranormal Penny series and release them over six months. I could already picture the covers lined up, the launch days, the emails, the excitement of finally giving readers the ending they’d been waiting for.

Instead…

Life happened.

Grief settled into places I didn’t expect. Changes in our family routine took more of my energy than I anticipated. The words didn’t come as easily. And somewhere along the way, disappointment quietly turned into self-pity. Self-pity slowly invited self-condemnation.

I began measuring my worth by the books I wasn’t writing instead of the God who had called me in the first place.

Maybe you’ve been there too.

Maybe your plans didn’t fall apart because you were lazy or unfaithful. Maybe life simply became heavier than you expected. And maybe you’ve mistaken a season of rest for failure.

That’s where I’ve been.

But something beautiful has been happening.

Over the past few weeks, I’ve sensed God gently asking me to pause.

Not forever.

Not because He has taken away the stories He placed in my heart.

Not because Paranormal Penny is finished.

Just…pause.

At first, I resisted. Writers write, right? We finish what we start. We push through. We meet deadlines. We hustle.

But God keeps whispering something different.

“Before you build another story, let Me rebuild your heart.”

That invitation has changed everything.

I’ve realized that somewhere along the way, I started thinking my value was connected to my productivity. If I published books, I was successful. If I missed my goals, I was failing God.

But Scripture tells a different story.

My identity has never been “author.”

It has always been “daughter.”

Before God called Moses to lead, He called him to meet Him at a burning bush.

Before David became king, he learned to worship alone in the fields.

Before Jesus began His public ministry, He spent time in the wilderness with His Father.

It seems that throughout Scripture, God often prepares people in quiet places before He asks them to step into public ones.

So that’s where I am.

Not in a season of quitting.

A season of preparing.

One of the books I’m slowly working through is Praying the Names of God by Ann Spangler. Instead of focusing on word counts and publishing schedules, I’m spending time learning who God reveals Himself to be throughout Scripture.

Jehovah Jireh—The Lord Who Provides.

El Roi—The God Who Sees.

Jehovah Shalom—The Lord Is Peace.

The more I study His names, the more I’m reminded that my circumstances don’t define His character.

He is still faithful when I feel stuck.

He is still present when I feel forgotten.

He is still enough when my plans don’t come together.

And perhaps that’s the lesson I needed most before writing the final chapters of Penny’s story.

Because if you’ve followed Penny’s journey, you know it has never just been about solving mysteries.

It’s about discovering truth.

Finding hope.

Learning that light always overcomes darkness.

Maybe God wants to remind me of those truths before I ask Penny to live them one last time.

So for the next few months, you’ll probably see fewer writing updates from me.

Instead, you’ll likely hear more about what God is teaching me.

About rest.

About grace.

About identity.

About hope.

The books aren’t going anywhere.

The stories are still waiting.

But right now, the Author of my story is asking me to sit with Him before I pick up my keyboard again.

And for the first time in a long while…

That doesn’t feel like falling behind.

It feels like coming home.

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What about you?

Have you ever experienced a season where God asked you to slow down or lay down something you loved for a while? I’d love to hear your story in the comments. Maybe we can encourage one another as we learn that sometimes the most important work God does isn’t through us—it’s in us.