God Opens Doors by Sarah Foust
(Note: This first published on September 21, 2017.)
God opens doors. Sometimes I don’t feel like walking through them, but He makes them available. A few years ago, my husband and I felt called to become foster parents. It was a tough process. Scary. More like terrifying. But, God presented us with an opportunity and we chose to follow. I’m so glad we did. It led to personal growth, parental growth, and to adopting our fourth daughter and first son. What a blessing they’ve been in our lives.
If we’d chosen to ignore God’s prompting, we wouldn’t have these two beautiful children. And, I wouldn’t be writing yet. It was through the process of becoming foster parents to our son that I realized I could no longer work full-time. When my job as a medical transcriptionist disappeared the week he arrived in our home, I knew it was time to pursue my dream career.
Through this, we stepped through another door, and I chose to write. I love writing. I’ve dreamed of it since I was in second grade. I remember sitting in the desk, zoning out while the 
teacher talked as I pictured crafting a real, long, tons-of-words novel.
I put that dream off for a long time because I feared I would fail. What if I pursued this career and fell on my face? What then? My dream would be dead and I’d have nothing to hope for my future career. But God gently nudged me forward, and I am so glad He did.
On November 4th, my first real, long, tons-of-words novel comes out. It’s an idea that originally popped into my head in high school (a few years ago). But with prayer for direction, it has become so much more than that initial spark. I poured my heart and soul into my book baby and it is about to arrive! I cannot wait to hold it in my hands and read my name—my name!—on the cover. I’ll probably cry. No joke.
I don’t know what the next door God will present me with will be, but I plan to step through it. I know that He only wants good for me and that He has a plan. If I’m to do my part, I need to be obedient, brave, and trusting. Who better to place blind trust in than God? If I were to encourage you to do any one thing, it would be to step through the door God has placed before you. He won’t let you fall, or if He does, He will pick you up. He’s waiting on the other side. Waiting to take you where you’re supposed to go. Waiting to lead you to who you are supposed to be.
Let’s talk about this! Do you have a dream career you’ve never pursued because of fear? Is God presenting you with a door of opportunity? Do you plan to walk through it?
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Speaking of living your dreams, or living out your identity in Christ and who He created you to be, as I like to put it, if you’re in the Omaha Metro area, I encourage you to come to Wholly Loved’s Bold and Brave conference. Our first one will be held at St. Paul’s Methodist Church in Papillion, NE on February 11th; our second one will be held at Good Shepherd Presbyterian in Lincoln, NE on June 24th. Mark your calendars, and follow us on Facebook for more information. And if you’re a writer living in the Seattle, WA area, I invite you to join me in October at the NCWA monthly meeting where I’ll be talking about overcoming the fear that hinders us from fully living out our calling and the freedom, creativity, and power that comes from surrender. And on the 28th, again for those in the Omaha area, I’ll be speaking at the local Wordsowers meeting on developing a mind of success. Find out more HERE. Because successful people think differently than unsuccessful people do, and science is discovering more and more, our success (in pursuit of our dreams) is much more dependent on our grit than our talent.
You might also enjoy:
Grit by Angela Duckworth
Courage and Calling by Gordon T. Smith
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Sara Foust writes Inspirational Romantic Suspense from a mini-farm in East Tennessee, where she lives with her husband and their five homeschooled children. She earned her 
Bachelor’s degree in Animal Science from the University of Tennessee and is a member of American Christian Fiction Writers and Tennessee Mountain Writers. Her debut novel Callum’s Compass won second place in Deep River Books’ 2017 Writer’s Contest. Sara finds inspiration in her faith, her family, and the beauty of nature. When she isn’t writing, you can find her reading, camping, and spending time outdoors with her family. To learn more about her and her work or to become a part of her email friend’s group, please visit www.saralfoust.com. And make sure to connect with her on Facebook and follow her on Twitter.
Collum’s Compass:
Kat Williams’s brother died in a gruesome accident in the mountains of East Tennessee. She blames herself.
Ryan Jenkins’s fiancée was murdered. He couldn’t protect her.
With the death of her brother, Kat believes she is unworthy of love from anyone—even God. When a good friend elicits a promise that she will stop living in the past and then leaves her clues to a real-life treasure hunt, Kat embarks on an adventure chock-full of danger. To find the treasure, Kat will have to survive wild animals—and even wilder men. Can she rely on Ryan, the handsome wildlife officer assigned to protect her . . . without falling in love?
Ryan swore off love when his fiancée was murdered, but feelings long-buried rise to the surface around Kat. He volunteers to help with her treasure hunt, vowing to keep her safe. Together they venture deep into caves and tunnels . . . and even deeper into the depths of their unplumbed hearts.
Available soon! Find information at www.saralfoust.com under the books tab
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Thank you for having me today! I’d love to hear about your readers dreams and doors God has opened for them. 🙂
Hi, Sara! I loved your post, and your book sounds fantastic! I love that God goes before, has a plan for us, and is, at this moment, molding and equipping us to live for Him!
Yes, exactly! Thank you!
Loved reading your story, Sara. Thanks for sharing!
Thank you!
I left a comment yesterday, but I’ll try again today lol. Congratulations, Sara, on your new book! I am so excited for you! Dream career? To be a published author. I have written/completed 2 inspirational contemporary romances and have 3 other manuscripts is various stages. But the one I’m working on now? Totally different. But, I needed to write those other manuscripts to be where I needed to be in order to write this one. God can use us, but we have to put in the work. My motto: Write and see. Write what God tells you and see where He takes it. I went to a women’s conference last night and the speaker was our pastor’s wife. One of her comments resonated with me. She said: she had dissected and studied for several weeks for this message last night. Then, 48 hours before, God changed the direction. But, without having put forth the effort of the several weeks before, she wouldn’t have been able to do what God wanted her to do in the 48 hours. That spoke to my heart after thinking about the manuscripts I’ve written/started and now the genre has changed. But I learned so much in what I’ve written up to this point that helps me in what I’m writing now. God uses it all. Thanks, Jennifer, for a great blog. Sara, can’t wait to read your book!
I’m so sorry your previous comment didn’t go through! Thanks for coming back and retyping! And with the added comment regarding the message God spoke to you last night, your comment is even richer! 🙂 I love that, Sally! Have you read Grit? I highly recommend it–for every writer! I also recommend “Courage and Calling” by Gordon T. Smith. I wish you were close! I’m speaking on a topic that is similar and I believe will help writers stay focused on and moving toward the call. Maybe one of these days we can get you to Omaha! 🙂
I typed this comment at least 3 times yesterday, but God knew what the topic would be last night and that I would be able to use it lol. After the comments didn’t show up, I got to thinking, do I really want to share that I’ve written that much but am now changing what I write? Yes, yes I do, because God is using that to do what I’m doing now. And I have no idea where it will go, but God does. I really, really want to go to the ACFW conference when it is in Nashville again. But I’d have to go alone and I don’t want to do that lol. We’ll have to see what this next year holds. God’ been moving out of my comfort zone so much lately, my comfort zone doesn’t even look familiar. I have not read those. Will have to check them out. Thank you! I would love to get to Omaha! Tim’s retired, so we’re one step closer! I am so thankful for our friendship. You’ve inspired, encouraged, and taught me so much.
I’m so glad you shared, Sally! I have a manuscript that was my first prayer-inspired Christian story that probably will never see the light of day again. But I feel the same way. God used that initial step (a rough, rough draft I’m sure) to get me motivated and where I needed to be. He is amazing! Are you from Tennessee? I live in East TN and I really would love to go to ACFW too. It’s a bit outside my budget right now, but maybe next year. Who knows where God will take me (and you) by then. But, the most important part isn’t knowing or seeing where but following Him wherever He leads!
Hey!! That was one of the other things in my comment from yesterday that never saw the light of day lol. How far east are you in TN? I grew up about an hour from Bristol VA, in Russell County, VA, on the other side of Abingdon and Lebanon. I now live near Blacksburg VA, which is about 2 hours from Bristol on I81. If you’re near there or some place I could find, and if I can afford it, we could plan to go together. We had an ACFW cluster group near here, in Pulaski, but then the ones driving there from the Wytheville area found a group closer to them, so now I have to group to meet with. I need a critique partner lol. One thing with the freelance editing I do, and beta reading for authors, and doing book reviews, God has taught me so much, let me meet so many people, from the comfort of my own home lol. He’s now getting me out and about, talking to people, etc. One Sunday morning our pastor looked at me and said God wants you to share. You’ll be sharing the next Sunday night. God gives me devotionals, and scriptures will spark my interest and I’ll go research them. I used one of those and had a fun time that night. I was nervous as all get out, but God can cause people to hear what he wants them to hear. He just needs someone to speak. I am very shy. I have a hard time striking up a conversation with a total stranger. As part of a certification through work, we are able to meet with an international student and be a conversation partner. It helps them with their English and I get to hear about a country I’ll never see. It benefits both of us. And you know? I’m having so much fun meeting and getting to know this person I’d never have talked to otherwise! God is so good. He takes what we think are inconsequential, insignificant things and works them together to get us where he wants us. Later, we look back and can say God I see what you did there lol.
We are near Knoxville.
That’s awesome! I love seeing the unexpected places where God can lead if we but follow!