Hi, I’m Amy, and I’m an overthinker.
God’s intimately acquainted with all my ways (Psalm 139:3, NASB 1995 ), so He knows this about me. He’s aware that the more information I gather at the outset of an adventure, the greater the odds of me never even starting. In His goodness, He often sets me on a new path without me realizing what He’s up to.
Mt. Yale was the first fourteener my husband and I summited together. We were both familiar enough with hiking to plan how much food and water to bring and what type of clothing and shoes to wear. We knew where the trailhead was and had estimated the time it would take to hike round trip. But that was the full extent of our knowledge the Saturday morning we drove into the parking lot.
Only after returning home did we read about the grueling section one hiker appropriately named the “thousand foot death march” and the 300 feet of scrambling (using both hands and feet to climb) before reaching the summit.
If we’d read those facts beforehand, I guarantee I would’ve told my husband to choose a different mountain for my debut. Instead, I accomplished a 10.2-mile difficult-rated hike with a 4,238 ft. elevation gain, and that gave me the confidence to tackle six more.
I had a similar experience with my writing pursuit.
Everything I did was “on a whim.” I created a website in one afternoon by following some prompts; I unknowingly started a blog by posting some of my journal entries; I set up social media accounts that focused on my writing; and I kept tabs on some fictional characters developing in my mind by detailing their lives in a Word document.
Through writing, God captured my heart and sparked a passion. I dared to believe I could write a novel and enrolled in an online course. Several modules covered pre-publication recommendations: creating a website, setting up social media accounts separate from your personal accounts, having consistent content on your website and social media accounts…
All the things I’d done on a whim.
Obviously, it wasn’t a whim; it was my good and gracious Father meeting my needs before I knew I had any.
The “hard” truth of publishing discourages me and slows me down some days, but if I’d done my research and discovered these truths before I began writing my novels, I probably never would’ve started.
It makes me sad to think of what I could’ve missed out on. Like the joy of playing with words and letting a story organically unfold. Or the challenging work that draws me into deeper dependence on Jesus.
If you’re an overthinker like me, God wants you to turn your eyes upon Him rather than the details that lead to what ifs. He wants you to pay attention to the things that captivate you and give them a try before counting yourself out.
And I’m certain He wants you to rest in the promise that if you seek Him, acknowledge Him, and obey Him, you can trust that He’ll provide for your every need.
After all, who knows you best?
LORD, You have searched me and known me.
You know when I sit down and when I get up;
You understand my thoughts from far away.
You scrutinize my path and my lying down,
And are acquainted with all my ways.
Even before there is a word on my tongue,
Behold, LORD, You know it all.
You have encircled me behind and in front,
And placed Your hand upon me.
Such knowledge is too wonderful for me;
It is too high, I cannot comprehend it. Psalm 139:1-6