Light the World: Defeat Your Fear and Banish the Darkness

Jerusha: I’m delighted to welcome my good friend and fellow writer, Amanda Wen, back to the FW Blog! Amanda is giving away one signed print copy of her debut novel, Roots of Wood and Stone, to one of you! So read on and enter the giveaway below!

By Amanda Wen

Once I signed my book contract and finished my revisions, I thought I was done with fear.

For many of us who write, publishing is the ultimate dream. Whether it’s landing a contract with a traditional publisher or striking out on our own as an indie author, we all long to hold our finished book in our hands.

But as any writer knows, there’s a decent amount of fear that goes with querying agents and submitting to publishers.

So when I got a contract, I thought the fear would end. My dreams were coming true, after all. God had delivered the desire of my heart.

But as my release date neared, I discovered a new fear: the fear of promoting my book.

This fear is perhaps not unfounded. As Christians, we’re instructed not to make much of ourselves.
“God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble,” after all (Colossians 3:12, ESV). Especially if, like me, you’re a person who shies away from the spotlight. (While it’s true my day job is as a performer, I’m happiest when I’m supporting other musicians and letting them take the lead).

But like it or not, marketing and promotion are part of the book-writing life. Our careers depend on it. And when that’s the case, it can be intimidating, if not downright scary, to try to walk the line between spreading the word and being seen as proud.

This truth struck home the day of the Capitol riots. I’d carved out several hours that day to work on guest posts for my blog tour (including this one!), but as the images of the riots unfolded on my screen, my heart wasn’t in it.

What was I doing? Our country seemed to be imploding, and I was spinning my wheels writing variations on the theme of “Hey! Buy my book!”

It seemed silly, selfish, and completely pointless, and I closed the computer and walked away.

But the next day, God used a Zoom meeting with the choirs I accompany to call out that lie for what it was.

As our director tried to help our high school singers make sense of it all, he showed a video that included a performance of “This Little Light of Mine.” And though I’ve heard that song zillions of times, God breathed new life into it.

Because my novel, Roots of Wood and Stone, isn’t about me. It’s not about the characters or even my real-life ancestors who inspired the characters.

Ultimately, the story is about God. It’s about how His plan is better than ours. How He faithfully shepherds us through even the worst things life can throw at us. How He weaves all these seeming loose ends into a tapestry more beautiful than we could imagine.

So when we Christian authors share the message of a book written in faithful obedience to the God who gifted us with story, it isn’t about increasing our sales numbers or making ourselves look good.

It’s about the light we’ve been given and sharing that light in an incredibly dark time.

The same goes for you, whatever your God-given task. You, too, are called to share His light.

Fear of sharing this light? That doesn’t come from God.

Paul said as much in his second letter to his young friend Timothy. Like me, Timothy must have struggled with timidity in sharing the message God had planted in his heart.

Maybe he feared rejection or coming across as obnoxious.

Maybe he was afraid he wouldn’t have the right words, or maybe he was simply on the shy side.

Whatever the reason, Timothy needed a little push, and God provided it through Paul’s pen. “For God has not given us a spirit of fear,” he writes, “but of power and of love and of a sound mind.” (2 Timothy 1:7 NKJV).

So whatever you do, whether it’s writing books or raising kids or teaching in a classroom or caring for patients, or simply sharing a word of encouragement with someone else, I pray that God will help you overcome the fear of sharing and embolden you to let your light shine.

I pray He will remind you of the power, love, and sound mind that come from Him along with the courage to share your light.

Because it is in these small acts, these little lights, that we point others to the Light of the World.

Are you sometimes afraid to share the Light of God with others? How can you banish the darkness of this world by sharing with others the Light of the World? Please share!

Photos by Gian D., Josh Boot, Jackson David, and Rinck Content Studio. Original graphics designed by Christen Krumm.

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Amanda Wen is an award-winning writer of inspirational romance and split-time women’s fiction. She has placed first in multiple contests, including the 2017 Indiana Golden Opportunity Contest, the 2017 Phoenix Rattler Contest, and the 2016 ACFW First Impressions Contest, among others. She was also a 2018 ACFW Genesis Contest finalist.

In addition to her writing, Amanda is an accomplished professional cellist and pianist who frequently performs with orchestras, chamber groups, and worship teams, as well as serving as a choral accompanist. A lifelong denizen of the flatlands, Amanda currently lives in Kansas with her husband, their three adorable and hilarious Wenlets, and a snuggly Siamese cat. Roots of Wood and Stone is her debut novel.

Connect with Amanda on her website, Facebook, Instagram, and be sure to sign up for her newsletter here.

Amanda is giving away one copy of Roots of Wood and Stone! Enter via the Rafflecopter below! (Giveaway ends February 1, 2021. Due to shipping costs, we can only mail to a US mailing address.)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Roots of Wood and Stone

This historic home holds the keys to their destiny…and their hearts

Abandoned at birth, her family roots a mystery, historical museum curator Sloane Kelley has dedicated her life to making sure others know theirs. When a donor drops off a dusty old satchel, she doesn’t expect much from the common artifact…until she finds real treasure inside: a nineteenth-century diary. Now she’s on the hunt to find out more.

Garrett Anderson just wanted to clean out his grandmother’s historic but tumbledown farmhouse before selling it to fund her medical care. With her advancing Alzheimer’s, he can’t afford to be sentimental about the family home. But his carefully ordered plan runs up against two formidable obstacles: Sloane, who’s fallen in love with both the diaries and the house, and his own heart, which is irresistibly drawn to Sloane.

A century and a half earlier, motherless Annabelle Collins embarks with her aunt and uncle on the adventure of a lifetime: settling the prairies of Sedgwick County, Kansas. The diaries she left behind paint a portrait of life, loss, and love–and a God who faithfully carries her through it all. Paging through the diaries together takes Sloane and Garrett on a journey they never could have planned, which will change them in ways they never imagined.