The Flog – The Fabry Log

With the new year here, I’ve been thinking about what I really need in life. Prioritizing. Trying to figure out what to do next. Let me be honest. I’m finishing another story—I really don’t know how much longer it will take, but I feel close to the end. I need to finish this book.

I need resolution to our house in Colorado. I need health care that will cover me here in Arizona. All I get for a lot of money is the ER. I need the lawsuit to be successful. I need healing for my wife and my children. I need direction for the next step—where do we go from here?

Many years ago when I began writing, I thought God would use my stories to provide for us. The more books I wrote, the more chances I had to hit on something that would catch or stick to the wall. So, diligently, I crafted and put the books into the hands of the publisher. Diligently I waited for a bestseller. It’s been fifteen years and I’m working on my 69th published book. I've seen some success and the extra money has paid many bills, but I haven't come up with the original idea that led to the great American novel.

I’m reminded of Ken Taylor’s story. He founded Tyndale House Publishers, the folks who have been so kind to us over the years and have given me a chance to write. (I’ve published with other houses, but Tyndale has put out most of my work.) Early on, Dr. Taylor thought that God was going to provide for his family through an investment in something in South America. I can’t recall now what it was. A mine or a coffee plantation. Doesn’t matter, because it went belly up and he lost all of his money.

In the end, he began a fledgling publishing house because that’s what he loved. That’s how he felt God leading. He taught his children the Bible and helped them understand it. He wanted to help others understand it and live by it. So he kept going where God was leading. He kept faithfully serving. It was not an overnight success, but step by step God was faithful. He did provide.

As much as I would like to have one, I do not really need a mega-bestseller. I don’t need an investment that “hits.” I don’t even need resolution to my house and the lawsuit. Put everything on the list of things I need and cross them out, one by one, until you come to the last one.

God.

When you come to the place when you realize that your deepest need is for the One who created you and loved you, then you’re at the place where He can use you most. The hard part is staying there and continuing, day by day, to realize what your real need is. My hope is not in a bestseller. My hope is not in the legal system. I must trust in the One who loved me enough to die for me.

I don’t know what’s going on in your life or what you believe you need. Weight loss. A new husband. A job. Peace of mind. A car that works. Whatever the list looks like, cross off everything else other than Him and you’ll be right where you need to be.