Rejoicing in His Hope

The email came into my inbox.

"Click here to approve your proof."

I took a deep breath. The day had finally come - the day I'd publish this book. It would finally be done.

After all the days of plotting and outlining and dreaming about all that this book could be...it was finally done and ready for the world to see.

But in the same moment, I wasn't ready to let this book go quite yet. And so I immediately texted one of my very best friends. The same friend that plotted this entire book with me. She helped me do research, she helped me with new character names and plot ideas. She read every scene (many, many times) and cried with me. I texted her and simply said, It's ready. But I'm not. Why am I so nervous this time?!

Her response basically said that I've loved these characters for so long and now, in a sense, I'm letting them go. Nearly six years ago (SIX! Oh my gosh.) I created these characters and began their story.

When I crafted this story of Chrissy and Carter, my life was so very different than it is now. I can't even convey with words all that God has been doing since I first sat down to write this story.

He has brought me through more loss and grief than I ever thought I would experience at fifteen years old.

He has given me confidence and courage in not only my speech, but in my every day life while I live and love for Him.

He has allowed me to speak to churches and conferences of 300+ youth students and share with them what a great God we serve.

He brought me to the greatest university on the planet and placed in my life some of the most incredible people that walk on this earth.

He's allowed me to write three books! Three! And hear from people who have been changed and affected by what God has used me to speak into their lives.

I've been humbled and challenged and pushed and so, so blessed by every step of this journey. No matter what frustration I've felt in these steps of editing (over and over...and over again) and formatting and working incredibly hard to get these books to you...it's all been worth it. So very worth it.

I sit here tonight and look back on these last five and a half years and I see God's hand in every step. He has been so present and I can't help but give Him all the glory for all of this.

It's January of 2017 and I can only hope that the next six years of my life will be as Jesus-filled as the last six. No, they have been the farthest thing from easy. But my Jesus has been faithful. What else do I really need?

So tonight, two days after the publication of Rejoicing in Hope, I'm grateful to Jesus most of all. I'm also thankful for you, for reading these books and loving these characters that are SO very dear to my heart.

I've had lots of questions, but for right now, this will be the last book in the Jeremiah 29 series. I think that's one reason this book was so bittersweet for me, one reason I was so nervous to publish.

For now, it's my last chapter with these characters and yours as well. I feel like I'm saying goodbye to some of my best friends (#authorprobs). This book was such a joy to write - so, so much fun - but equally as challenging. It was the first book in which I cried while writing (#noshame). That same friend mentioned above got me through many hard nights of writing this book. I revisited days in my past and relived emotions that I never wanted to relive. And I can only hope that through this book, you see the hope that God has given to us no matter what you're going through. He is always faithful.

And of course, I hope you're happy with the ending I've given these characters. In the future, we may see more of them. I have a few spin-off book/novella/short story ideas (hint: Ava). But who knows what's going to happen down the road.

All of that to say...God is good. Rejoicing in Hope is officially published (!!!). Please let me know what you think of this book...I can only hope that you'll love it as much as I do.

Thank you for hanging with me for this ride. It's been nothing short of amazing and I cannot wait to see what's in store.

Enjoy the book...but more than that, trust our God, because He is so worth it and will turn this:

"When she asks him what she can do for him and he tells her to go for three weeks to Africa and work on this project for him. While she is gone, she grows in her faith and sees why God let this happen, and he writes her encouraging letters while she is gone. In all of this she grows in her faith and learns a lot." {First outline of For I Know the Plans, age 14}

Into this:

"One by one the graduates made their way across the stage. That’ll be me next year. Where had the last three years gone? Late nights had turned into early mornings that turned into weeks and months at Liberty…and there we were, Meg and James were graduating." {First paragraph of Rejoicing in Hope, age 19}

~Bailey Bowers