In God I Trust
For years on top of years, I have tried to venture my life’s journey without God’s total involvement. How foolish, right?! Better yet, how human of me to think I would fulfill my purpose without God leading the way?! How ignorant was I?! If I am a part of God’s plan, how the heck could I do anything worthy of Him without Him?!
God has been the pioneer of my 180. If it wasn’t for God loving me the way He does, I probably wouldn’t be here to share this Uncut Truth with you. God saved me. God forgave me. God healed me. And God blessed me. So if there’s anyone who deserves credit for my turnaround, it’s without a doubt my Lord, Christ, and Savior.
In 2015, I endured a life’s crisis which lead to my change. If you already know my story, then you’re aware that that’s when I found my passion for writing. But as I think back on it, I didn’t find anything. My purpose was already there, and God revealed it to me. All I had to do was make the initial connection. “I can’t keep living like this. God please help me!” were my pleading words to the Lord.
A few years after God showed me my passion, He spoke to me in the middle of a writing prompt: “You love children. You love writing. Write for children.” was the invoice I received from God. And guess what I did? I began writing fun, colorful stories for kids.
On my unexpected journey as an emerging children’s author, I partnered up with a writing coach, Brenda, who is a pastor and author, in 2019 who helped me perfect my craft. From writing prompts to grammar lessons, I learned how to write an effective narrative for children. Brenda would later become my healing mentor, but that’s another wonderful story.
After a more than a year of writing drills (and prayer), I was blessed to sign with a literary agent, Dr. Sharon Elliott, who contacted Brenda through an online writers’ conference. She jumped in to help me get my “TaQuan Makes a Choice” series published.
As of date, I have not been signed to a publisher. And here’s why: Remember when God showed me my passion?! Remember when He spoke to me about writing for children?! Well, the part that I didn’t realize (until now) was that He wants to funnel His message through my writing to the youth. When I spoke and prayed to God, He responded with two of His devoted followers and a unique talent. He didn’t do this for me because it’s not about me. It was never about Latif’s 180. It was about Him fitting me into His plan.
OMG! I finally get it. It was never meant for me to just be a children’s author, writing for at risk youth. No, no, no. I am a Christian children’s author writing stories to help kids make positive life decisions by blending my childhood experiences with His powerful scriptures. My children’s manuscripts don’t have a home because they were missing the most essential piece: the Word of God. Okay, Father, I gotcha. From this point on, I will put all of my trust in God and write for Him.
May God Bless