Rediscovering You
For this blog I wanted to share with you some behind-the-scenes of the journey that led me to writing in a recently published book.
[If you don’t know, I contributed a chapter to a collaborative book with Hope*Books Publishing. I’ll tell you more about that in a minute.]
I’m sharing this with you because I want to:
Draw back the curtain on how success is perceived
Encourage you in your own life journey
As I said, I contributed to a collaborative book. It’s called “Rediscovering You: A Guide to Life After Divorce”. There are 10 authors and 10 chapters where each of us share our own story of heartbreak and healing after divorce while offering guidance and hope on navigating it.
So what led me to join this book?
I’ve always enjoyed reading and, for as long as I can remember, I even liked writing assignments in school. (I know..major nerd!) Deep down I had this desire—maybe even the knowledge—that I would write a book one day. I didn’t know what it would be about or the format it would take, I just knew what I felt in my heart.
Well, fast forward to 2020 when my husband walked away and ended our marriage. It was in the depths of that grief and heartbreak that I knew exactly what I would write about. God was asking me to share my story of divorce so that it would help others going through a similar experience.
“God is our merciful Father and the source of all comfort. He comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort others. When they are troubled, we will be able to give them the same comfort God has given us.” -2 Corinthians 1:3b-4, NLT
In such a hard season, God offered me His comfort and took me through the process of healing. He did this for my own sake, of course, but I also believe He did it for the sake of others. As I received comfort and healing from God, I could then share that with others who needed it.
I started “sharing” my story by privately journaling my thoughts, feelings, and the lessons God showed me during my grieving and reflection phase of healing. I knew that at least some of those notes could be helpful one day. And I’m happy to say that I do still use the insight from those journals in my writing, speaking, and personal conversations. In fact, I used one of them in my chapter of “Rediscovering You”.
In 2024 I started my blog “Pivotal Pain” where I would publicly tell my story through writing. I had also, at this point, shared my story in a women’s service at my church and in various conversations with others.
Ultimately, my dream still was to write a book one day. But in the meantime I did what I could to share my story. And honestly, if a book never became a reality then so be it. I was content to know that God was using my story through other means to bring comfort, encouragement, and healing to the people that needed it.
But God!
He made a way for a book when He led me to the Hope*Writers community and to this collaborative book opportunity through their publishing team. Hope*Books started these collaborative books with numerous other themes and I remember thinking what a great opportunity they were; but none of them quite fit my story or my experience. Until I got an email from them with new collaborative book themes, and on the list was “After Divorce”.
I didn’t even need to pray about it. I knew God had led me to this opportunity and that He was nudging me to take it. So I joined the team, and I can now can call myself a published author!
My encouragement here is twofold.
First, success and personal achievements do not happen passively or swiftly. Speaking engagements, blogs, and this book did not fall into my lap as I sat and waited for them. I had to put in time and effort and, more importantly, step outside my comfort zone to succeed in these things. Writing is a craft that takes practice. I have a long way to go in my writing skills, but I’ve also come a long way because I’ve dedicated myself to learning and becoming better.
Success does not come swiftly either. I joined the Hope*Writers community in 2020 but I didn’t publicly share my story until 2022, and didn’t launch my blog until 2024. It took 5 years after my divorce for me to have the opportunity to write about it in a book.
It’s always easy to look at someone living in their successes and to assume that they made it there effortlessly or with a quick turnaround time. But it’s because we rarely ever see the behind-the-scenes of the long process that someone goes through in order to succeed. The joy we see in someone celebrating success often has us looking past the boring, slow, maybe even ugly process to make it there.
If you’re working towards success or certain achievements, just remember that it takes a process of hard work to get there. It will take time, but keep going! Put in the necessary work and trust that God will lead you where you need to go.
My second encouragement is this: If God places a calling on your life you can be certain that He will make a way to bring it to fruition!
I knew that God had placed a calling on my heart to share my story of divorce, and I believed that part of that calling was a book. I could have given up after a year or two when there was no book yet, but I remained faithful to the calling. I kept sharing my story and, eventually, God opened the right door.
“And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns.” -Philippians 1:6, NLT
God is not going to place a calling on your life and then leave you high and dry. He is not interested in humiliating you or forcing you to make your own way forward. He will bring the necessary resources and lead you along the right path for you to succeed in the plans He has for you.
Why was a book, specifically, the dream?
In the initial months after my divorce I relied heavily on books for comfort and guidance. I had other resources I relied on, like prayer and the support of loved ones around me, but books just had a way of speaking to me like nothing else could. (Plus, this was at the height of the COVID pandemic when we were all forced into at-home activities, like reading.)
The books I read not only validated my feelings and comforted my broken heart, they also challenged my perspectives and gave me precious insight. And in that same season where books were helping me heal, I heard this quote:
“One day you will tell your story of how you overcame what you went through, and it will be someone else’s survival guide.”
What a powerful sentiment!
If my story can save someone else, then I will happily share it. And if my book can help someone the way that other books have helped me, I’ll be living the dream. Books made a world of a difference for me after divorce. And now, I’m honored that I get to share that same helpful, healing resource with others.
-Stephanie Lauren Jordan
If you want to take a look at the book, or buy a copy, you can find it on Amazon: https://a.co/d/5LdRUCn.
