by Lena Nelson Dooley
In January 1984, several publishers came out with inspirational romances–Silhouette, Thomas Nelson, Zondervan, Harvest House, Baker Books, Bethany House. At the time, I was an auxiliary rural mail carrier in Colleyville, Texas.
While I was driving the mail route, I created a story in my head, like a motion picture.
The first week of May 1984, I went to spend part of an afternoon with a good friend who thought romance novels were a waste of time. While we were talking that day, she asked me if I knew a particular woman who attended church with us. When I said, “Yes,” she said, “Her mother writes those trashy romance novels.”
I told Vickie I would like to write inspirational romance, and expected her to say, “Why bother?”
Instead, she looked right at me and said, ” Lena, you’re supposed to do that.”
Later, I went to a Christian bookstore to get a record they had ordered for me. The store manager asked me to go to his office. What have I done now? I didn’t shoplift or anything ran through my mind.
He told me that he wanted to ask me about the romance novels. He had been watching what else I bought, so he was sure he could trust my judgment. I told him how I felt about inspirational romances, because God created romance. Before I left, I told him I had been thinking about writing an inspirational romance.
He looked right at me. “If God has given you this talent, you are to develop it.”
I was stunned. Twice in one day.
I went to the high school cosmetology department. My daughter was a student there. For the first time, I told a member of my family about my desire. She was excited about it.
That weekend at our church-wide spiritual life retreat, the speaker was the nationally known writer and speaker, Tommy Tyson. Here’s what he talked about on Saturday morning. He started by reading Psalm 37:4. The scripture says, “Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart.”
I knew the scripture meant that if you delighted in the Lord, He would give you things you had always desired. That is one meaning of the verse.
Tommy Tyson said, “God will put a desire in your heart. Many times, you’ll think it is your desire. He’ll let it stay there often for years. Then when it’s His timing, He’ll bring it forth. He’ll confirm it through others.” When he said that, the Lord spoke into my heart. Do you see what I have been doing this week? I put that desire in your heart. Now I am calling it forth, and I have confirmed it through 3 people.
By then, my heart was soaring.
I still had a fear. Every time I had to write anything, be it a program or script or something else, it was hard to start. And a book was like a motion picture in my mind.
“But Lord, what if the words don’t come?”
The speaker got to the real message, “God places His storehouses of provision along the road of obedience.”
When he first said that, the Lord said to me:
“You write, I will cause the words to flow.“
What a promise!
Later I shared with my husband what had happened. He also recognized it was a call and a gift from God. He really supported me through all I’ve done.
Available at https://a.co/d/hXHz8x7
The Lord opened doors for me. I have done a lot of writing for him–curriculum for Sunday school, children’s church, public school, private schools; international business reports for companies; comedy for a Christian comedian; and more than 50 novels.
Lena Nelson Dooley
Award-winning, multi-published author Lena Nelson Dooley has had more than 1,000,000 copies of her 50+ books sold. She is a member of ACFW and the local chapter, ACFW – DFW. She’s a member of Christian Authors’ Network and Gateway Church in Southlake, Texas. She has been on the ECPA and CBABestseller lists and Publisher’s Weekly bestseller list. She has won over a dozen major awards. She lived in Texas with her husband James, the love of her life, for 59 years and became a widow in 2023.