There’s Only One King of the Hill

It was only a few yards of black gumbo dirt, but it was prime real estate in my grade school eyes. The Hill sat on the playground of a now defunct country school once known as Briarfield South. Perched on the side of a drainage ditch that ran alongside a cotton field, The Hill doled out dirty jeans, scraped knees, and transitory crowns to all comers. Should you manage to make it to the top by outmaneuvering the opposition, you did your best to enjoy the moment for the glory was sure to be short-lived. If the recess bell didn’t require you to surrender your throne, there was always another valiant warrior bent on taking it by force.

I often think about The Hill when I’m participating in a Publisher Land event, like the recent conference in South Carolina. As much fun as it was, a girl doesn’t have to be the sharpest knife in the drawer to sense the anxiety that co-exists with the feeling of accomplishment many authors feel upon making it up the long publishing hill. Here’s what you may not know about Publisher Land: You’re only as successful as your last book. The next contract rests on your latest sales numbers. If getting published is an uphill climb, staying published can be like writing from a balance beam. Ah yes, yours truly can succumb to it, too, if I don’t keep this thing surrendered to the Lord.

It’s yet another reason to be grateful for the solid rock beneath my feet. Such a welcome relief it is to know this Jesus who has fully saved and fully accepted me. I’m not on a continual evaluation with Him. Oh, He’s still working on me and with me, (the fancy word for that is sanctification), and He’ll keep working on me until He presents me before His Father and mine, redeemed and glorified. But, praise Him, I don’t have to fight and scratch to hold onto my place in His heart. My work is to keep Him in His rightful place in mine!

Hugs,
Shellie