God is in Control

As one quite familiar with fluctuating freelance income the past 35-plus years, I know how challenging it is to be grateful when the roller coaster takes a dive. That’s what happened after I completed a time-consuming book rewrite and editing project at the end of January.

At first, I wasn’t too upset. I had completed the substantive edit on the heels of another two-month book edit. It wore me out so much that it took several weeks to recuperate.

Plus, when mid-February’s triple ice-and-snowstorm package left our home without electricity for five days, I was delighted to not have many deadlines and pending projects on my plate.

God is in Control – Prayer for Help

Still, on the last Monday of February, as my wife and I finished our morning devotions, I prayed, “Lord, I could use a couple more paying jobs this month.”

That afternoon at two o’clock, an editor emailed to ask if I could write a rush story on disaster relief shipments going into Texas. She needed it in 48 hours, but it would pay twice their normal fee.

I jumped online to do research and connected on phone interviews with two of three people I hoped to reach. By 6 o’clock I had the rough draft finished.

After a few small revisions the next morning, I was done. Because this particular group had gone to electronic payments during last year’s lockdowns, I also had the money in a week.

More Work Coming

While the speed with which that work showed up impressed me, more was on the way. Three days after my prayer, I received an unsolicited email from an author who had published a couple books through Amazon’s book division.

Now he wanted one of them professionally edited. I told him I had the time to work on it. We talked the next afternoon, he sent me the files, and after a sample edit we were off and running.

Not only did he and I work well together, but I also thoroughly enjoyed editing his book. It was like an intrinsic bonus.

In addition, a couple hours after this author and I talked, another editor emailed to ask if I could tackle a writing assignment for a new quarterly magazine he oversees.

Although I would only have a couple weeks to pull it off, I told him I had the flexibility. A few minutes after I asked for details, he called on Facebook, saying he thought it would be simpler to have a quick discussion.

Opening the Doors

Since then, more unexpected work has appeared. In early April, a ghostwriting project I expected to start on suddenly vanished. The same day, an editor I had worked with in the past called to ask if I had time to help her with a rush project.

“I do now,” I replied.

In addition to the income, it was one of the most enjoyable assignments I have handled lately. Work that I wouldn’t have been able to do if I had started that ghostwriting job.

The day after I started on that project, I received another rush job, which I finished in several days.

In addition, the disappearance of the ghostwriting job created time to do a sample edit on another manuscript. It tells of a most interesting saga and I recently started refining it.

The moral of the story: no matter what your occupation, position in life, or situation gnawing at your nerves, remembering that God is in control will help calm them.