Tuesday, June 17, 2025, marked the fulfillment of a decade-long mission: Just Megan officially released.
Roughly nine years of writing, revising, delays, diversions, and detours, followed by nine months of labor with my publishing team, yielded something that I hope will speak God’s love into many lives and hearts.
An author’s work doesn’t end with publication. Like a parent, they must still steward their “child,” guiding it to its place in the world. But publication marks a major milestone, one worth celebrating.
As I reflect on my publishing journey, I can see how my book wasn’t the only thing being shaped by the process. Through my experience as a first-time author, God taught me many valuable lessons about what it takes to follow Him in any calling He places on my life.
We all have God-given callings—assignments God gives us in order to build others up and convey the Good News. A calling can be as “ordinary” as being a good parent, spouse, or caregiver, or as “extraordinary” as being a God-glorifying writer, entrepreneur, or ministry leader. And we’re all called to follow Jesus, obeying His teachings and imitating His character.
Whatever your calling(s), here are nine helpful insights I learned from my debut author journey that apply to any calling.
Build a support system.
Writing can be a very solitary occupation. After all, the writer is the one with a particular idea, a vision for its execution, and a goal for the end result. As the “parent” of our work, we’re its chief advocates.
Yet we can’t bring a manuscript from first draft to published product without help. Editors, formatters, cover designers, and more must come together in order to produce a beautiful, readable book. Further, authors need emotional and spiritual support to weather the demands of creating, publishing, and promoting our work.
People of every calling benefit from community. Many assignments call for more skills and resources than any one person possesses. And even the most talented and well-equipped individuals among us need encouragement, accountability, and prayer.
So, whatever your calling, find support. Connect with a faith community. Ask loved ones to pray for you. Consider seeking a mentor or accountability partner. If it’s a complex undertaking like launching a ministry, invite people whose callings complement yours to join you.
And if the idea of seeking support makes you feel awkward or embarrassed, remember: This isn’t about you. Your calling is a gift God has given you to steward. If you need help, then, as His steward, seek it.
He often provides through people. Ask Him to guide you to the right ones.
Aim to serve, not to please.
Authors naturally want people to like their books. We want to feel that all our hard work was worth it. And who doesn’t like being liked?
We aren’t the only ones in this position. Preachers, teachers, worship leaders, entrepreneurs, fundraising coordinators … if someone has a message to convey or crowds to lead, it’s easier and more rewarding if people like how you’re doing it.
But there’s a better goal to strive for than pleasing people—something healthier, more satisfying, and beneficial to everyone: serving people.
Pleasing and serving aren’t the same thing. You can please someone without doing them any good, and you can do someone good without making them happy. (Just ask a doctor.)
As you minister to others, prioritize their welfare over their positive opinions. Rather than covet an enthusiastic response, pray for God to guide and help you in reaching the person He wants you to serve. Aim for work that glorifies Him instead of work that gets a visible reaction from people.
By all means, be pleasant and engaging. But also be clear with yourself on what you’re trying to accomplish. And trust God’s power, not your charisma, to accomplish it.
Know your mission.
I didn’t start writing Just Megan just because I had a story. I started writing because a doctor and fellow Christian encouraged me to write and because God confirmed the idea. As my doctor said, “People need hope.“
Claiming my mission as one of offering hope motivated me to keep working at it and returning to it, even when life and other projects drew me away. Clarifying my mission helped me shape the book, guiding me in which stories to include and which themes to focus on.
When you set out on a divine assignment, take a moment to prayerfully identify your mission. Why are you doing this? What do you want to accomplish? The more specific your answers, the clearer your direction will be.
If you’re struggling to pinpoint your purpose, try talking to a mentor or a trusted friend who asks good questions. Or write out your thoughts in all their messiness and then prayerfully go over them.
Once you identify your mission, return to it regularly. Use it to aid your decision-making by asking yourself how well your options serve your purpose.
Above all, pray over your mission—because God knows better than anyone what He wants you to do. And He’s ready to help you do it.
You can bear more than you think you can—if you let God bear you.
I generally consider myself a patient person. I mean, with a body that doesn’t always work, I have to be.
Yet, at times during the publishing process, I felt stretched past the point of endurance. Several times I came close to demanding that God force things to move. But after considering how futile (not to mention impertinent) such demands are, I surrendered to the stretching … and prepared to possibly break.
I didn’t break. Even when no coveted email appeared, even when snafus didn’t smooth themselves out, the tension inside eased. Other areas of my life provided laughter or interest. And eventually the email came or the problem was resolved.
At some point, God’s directions will take you through tight squeezes, deep valleys, dark alleys, parched plains, and/or flooded fords. They’ll require you to wait, to detour, to dive, to climb, until you’re sure you can’t take it anymore. But with God, you can.
I’ve heard that God never gives us more than we can handle. I’m rather of the opinion that He never gives us more than He can handle. We just need to surrender it to Him.
So when you reach a place where you’re ready to give up, give it to God. Turn to Him in prayer, tell Him exactly how you feel, and ask Him for what you need. Then say simply, “Your will be done,” and let Him carry you.
He will never drop you.
Use easy times to prepare for hard times.
Once my manuscript entered publication, my role in the process ebbed and flowed, with days or weeks of waiting followed by flurries of activity. One of my biggest challenges involved learning to use the pauses well. Instead of sitting around, I worked on items that would save me time and hassle down the road—and that strategy paid off.
But I also experienced an ebb and flow on the spiritual level, one I also tried to manage well. When the book process ran smoothly and my path forward felt clear and secure, I made an effort to still consciously submit my way to God. I still asked Him to search and correct me. And I believe that practicing surrender in the easy moments prepared me to surrender when decisions were harder and progress more difficult.
In the quieter moments of your calling, instead of allowing yourself to get distracted or complacent, ask God how you can use the quiet well. Consider ways you can continue to grow and prepare for the next season.
You might do this by resting and recharging. You might do it by tackling the items smoking on your back burner. You might do it by incorporating a new spiritual discipline or doubling down on an old one.
Let God guide you—and get to it!
Investments in yourself are investments in your calling.
Working on my book, communicating about my book, and praying over my book all contributed to my book’s successful completion. But I’m convinced that other activities played a significant role—activities that had nothing directly to do with Just Megan.
Reading. Riding horses. Spending time with my donkeys. Going to church. Studying the Bible with friends.
Such things nourished my body, mind, heart, and soul. By doing so, they empowered me to undertake other things—like publishing a book.
No matter how consuming your calling, make time for things that have seemingly nothing to do with it. Find a hobby. Hang out with loved ones. Establish a sabbath. Learn a new skill.
Take care of your whole person—mind, body, and soul. Doing so will benefit your calling by equipping you to pursue it.
Realize God is still teaching you.
When on a mission for God, it’s easy to get so hung up on being His workers that we neglect to also be His disciples.
As a debut author, I had the sheer newness of the experience to keep me (mostly) safe from forgetting my learner status. I entered the experience hoping to learn more about publishing—and I did.
But I also had to remember to stay spiritually teachable. Yes, I’ve had previous practice at things like waiting, decision-making, and prayer. But this adventure took those lessons to new levels. God basically said, “Okay, you trusted Me with that. How about this?”
Our callings, no matter how service-oriented, aren’t just for others—they’re for us, too. If we approach them as opportunities to walk with Jesus in new places and grow closer to Him through new experiences, we’ll more often than not come away spiritually richer.
Viewed with a disciple’s mindset, failures become lessons, hardships become faith-builders, and every step becomes practice in Christlikeness. And successes, rather than being our personal trophies, become mirrors reflecting God’s glory.
So instead of stressing over how you’ll master your assignment, ask God what He wants to teach you through it. As you traverse the road He’s set you on, keep an ear open for His voice and an eye peeled for His hand. Keep studying His Word and conversing with Him in prayer.
Remember: You’re not on this mission because God decided you’re already flawless. You’re on it because He wants to share this adventure with you—and because He thinks you and others will benefit as a result.
Hold your projects loosely.
Back in college, my writing professors emphasized the need for editing even our best work—because even the best writers have room for improvement. Consequently, we were advised never to hold our words so dearly that we wouldn’t trade them for better ones.
In publishing, this same maxim applies to just about everything: the text, the design, the marketing copy, even the timing of release. Something could always be better; hence we must hold what we have loosely.
This means striving for excellence and making thoughtful use of feedback. It means separating our work from our identity and prioritizing our goals over our vanity.
It also means that, once we’ve done what we reasonably can, we leave the outcome to God, deferring to Him as a worker to their manager.
So give your assignment your best. But remember: You aren’t your assignment. Its fate doesn’t lie solely in your hands, nor does your standing with God depend on its success.
You’re a human being serving the omniscient, omnipotent Creator who holds everything in His hands. Your standing with Him depends on nothing but your identification with Christ.
Your calling is something you do because you love God. And He loves you no matter what.
Hold on to God for dear life.
If I had to name one thing that has been indispensable to surviving my first publishing journey, it would be prayer.
My most saving prayer? “God, this is Your book, so You’re going to have to take care of this!”
Really.
When I’ve been worn out, He has taken me and this project and carried us. When I’ve had no control over outcomes or timeframes (which has been pretty much constantly), He has orchestrated them. When a task or decision towered over me, He stood beside me until we’d vanquished it.
The result is a gorgeous book that is touching people. Not to mention an author who’s hopefully a little more like the person she’s meant to be.
If the spiritual benefit of all involved is the ultimate goal of pursuing a calling, I’d say this one was a success.
Even as you hold your assignment loosely, cling to the One who gave it. Go to Him for everything—guidance, provision, courage, comfort, correction, grace. Study His Word daily and apply it to your life. Seek His will in every area, including your calling.
If you haven’t already committed to Him as your Lord and Savior, do so now! Believe that Jesus died on the cross to atone for your sins, was buried, and rose to life on the third day afterward to offer you eternity with God. Confess your sins to God and repent of them. Ask His forgiveness. Ask Jesus to be the Lord of your life and Savior of your soul.
Following Him isn’t always easy. But He is with you every step of the way, and always will be.
Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, be steadfast, immovable, always excelling in the Lord’s work, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.
1 Corinthians 15:58 CSB
Scripture quotations marked CSB have been taken from the Christian Standard Bible®, Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Christian Standard Bible® and CSB® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers.
BeanSpired Editions 