Take a moment to pause and consider – What does your heart desire? Do you have a dream, a wish, or a goal? Perhaps there is something tucked deep inside your heart, and you are afraid to even speak it out loud?

That’s how I felt about becoming a writer. I always wanted to be a writer, for as long as I could remember. But it seemed like a huge dream. It was like saying that I was going to become an actress or an astronaut.

Yeah right! That could never happen. Those were thoughts I had. I didn’t always think them consciously. But in the back of my mind, that’s how I felt.

When I was in high school, I got a job at the public library. I loved my job. So when I looked around for colleges, I looked at those which had library science as a major. However, when I went off to the college, I was told that I shouldn’t major in library science, because my college was not accredited. So I was at a loss on what I should major in. Meanwhile, I got a job at the college library, and I enjoyed it as well. (Notice how both jobs dealt with books?)

The following year I took a computer class and enjoyed it. This particular class fell under the major of business, with a concentration in management information systems. So that’s what I chose to go with.

At this point in my life, the dream of writing was pushed so far back into the recesses of my mind, that I never even considered taking that route in college.

After graduating college, I had a series of programming jobs. I did like the work that I was doing. But the dream of writing was still tucked deep inside my heart. I voiced this dream only to a select few, such as my husband. But I never mentioned it to most people that I knew. I honestly thought it would never happen. And if I told someone that I wanted to write, then I would look like a failure when it never transpired.

At different times in my life, I sought programs that might help prepare me. I took a non-fiction writing class. Later I took a novel writing class. I subscribed to writing magazines. I paid good money to join various writing groups. But fear kept me at arm’s length. And I gradually bowed out of each of those programs.

As the years passed, I allowed different doubts to enter my mind: I don’t have what it takes, I don’t think anybody would want to read anything that I wrote, I don’t have an English degree, I want to write in the Christian industry and I am not a Bible scholar. I pretty much had given up completely. So I set aside my writing and allowed fear to keep ruling my life.

Then one day, I was tired of it all. I was tired of not writing. I was tired of my dreams going down the drain. I was tired of living a mediocre life.

I told my husband that I needed a desk, so that I would have a dedicated place to write. Within a week, he acquired a desk off of Craigslist.

I sat down to write every day. In about a month, I completed my first book, Every Day is a Gift.

I am still a bit stunned that this dream actually came to fruition. But I give God all the glory. He knew what my heart desired, and He helped me get there.

So tell me, what does your heart desire? Do you have a dream that seems too big to accomplish? If so, there are two steps you need to take today.

(1) Get the tools you need to accomplish your dream. Ask yourself, what is one thing you can do today to set the wheels in motion?

(2) Most importantly, pray about it. Tell God what your dream is. He cares about you and the things that you long for. He can help you accomplish your goals, no matter how big they seem.

“Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you your heart’s desires.” – Psalm 37:4