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A Divine Partnership

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 HANNAH

I'm a writer, author, and online educator who loves helping others build intentional lives through the power of habit and meaningful routines.

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Whenever someone tells me they love Come Matter Here, I match their level of excitement.

“It’s such a good book,” I beam with excitement. I know that might come off as proud or a little bit arrogant but Come Matter Here being my favorite book written to date has little to do with me being the author of it.

Writing Come Matter Here was one of the most sacred seasons of my life.  Lane and I were newlyweds sharing a loft in Atlanta. I would pull myself from bed every morning at 5 am and climb upstairs into my writing loft. There I would stay for the next 3 hours or so, clacking away on my keyboard and talking to myself furiously. That’s how you can tell I am in a writing groove if you ever see me at a coffee shop– I’ll be talking to myself as I type.

Don’t get me wrong: getting up to the writing loft was still incredibly difficult. I wanted to stay in bed. I wanted to pull the covers over me and sleep for a few more hours. I think it’s a romanticized myth that all writers look forward to the writing hours. Every time I sit down to write, it still feels like jumping into an icy cold pool and figuring out how to swim again for the one-thousandth time.

I’d get up to the loft, a blanket still wrapped around me and a coffee in hand. I’d light a candle and look over the outline. I’d say a prayer. Never a simple prayer. Never an “I’ve got this– thanks for the inspo, God,” prayer. This was a pleading prayer that often sounded like, “Hey God, I can’t do this work without you. I mean it. If you don’t show up, I’m not going to have anything to say.”

That’s how writing Come Matter Here felt– like I was in a constant tangle of pleading prayers with God. There were so many days when I was certain I didn’t have anything to say. I would give the topic to God and the words would come rushing out of me like they’d been there all along.

That’s why I can confidently say Come Matter Here is a very good book– it was downloaded into me, morning after morning. It belonged to God and still belongs to God. I felt him tangibly in the writing room and I would be in awe of the words he wrote through me– that awe would carry me through each day.

I’m writing this piece today with urgency because I’ve been feeling deflated lately about writing. My creativity is surging in other areas but, when it comes to book writing, I feel stuck. 

This morning, as I sat with my Bible and my journal, I read a passage in a book I got from the library yesterday. The words felt like they were pinching my skin– waking me up to an idea I’d forgotten somehow: It’s not on me. It’s not on me to create the most beautiful thing or write the best book. I’ll miss the beauty in the process if I forget to partner with my Creator.

We live in a culture of constant feedback and praise. It’s very easy to start thinking highly of ourselves when people are commenting on our days, our disciplines, and our creations. We can start to think it’s all on us, that we are here to churn out content and feed the beast of social media.

But the magic you and I are looking for can’t be found on social media. It’s found in the quiet. It’s found in the unplugging from what everyone thinks to get back to basics. It’s found in sitting before God and pleading through prayer, “I can’t do this on my own. Will you come and partner with me?”

He always will. I promise you– he will always partner with you. 

If we forget that partnership, we step into dangerous territory. A territory that inflates us and makes us believe we can do this thing called “life” all on our own. I don’t know about you, but I don’t want to take another step forward without the divine hand of God on everything I touch. My creations. My relationships. My steps and my rhythms.

Whenever I can’t wrap myself around the idea of partnering with God, I think back to Moses. If you’re unfamiliar– pick up your Bible today and start reading Exodus (it’s my favorite book in the Bible). You’ll be amazed at the partnership forged between God and Moses. They dialogue regularly. With every step Moses takes, he gets with God first. He is the first picture of intimacy with our Heavenly Father that we see mapped out for us in the text. It’s an ongoing, every moment sort of thing and it’s stunningly beautiful. 

All throughout the Scripture, God partnered with his people. He wants to partner with me and you. 

What would change about our lives if we forged a partnership with God in all things? If we stopped carrying the heavy loads and started back with the pleading prayers, trusting he would shoulder the big things for us?

Flannery O’Connor once wrote in her private prayer journal, “Don’t let me ever think, dear God, that I was anything but the instrument for Your story-just like the typewriter was mine.”

It’s not on you to do it all. Not even a little bit. Release the grip of control and ask God to step in and partner with you. I promise, there will be fruit. 

God works through you.

God works in you.

God works with you.

I’d love to hear from you:

In moving my blog to a newer platform, I sadly had to let go of the thousands of comments and conversations that came from readers over the last 10+ years. This grieves me deeply but I know there will new conversations, fresh words of wisdom, and opportunities to create close community once again. I’d love to hear from you in the comments section. I’ll be reading + replying on a regular basis.

LEAVE A COMMENT +

  1. Amy Hehn says:

    Needed this reminder today.
    Pleading prayers… I know God heard them.
    Thank you!

  2. Tola Babalola says:

    I can totally see how Come matter here is a God thing. It truly was a life changing book and the one I refer the most.

  3. Lucy says:

    Thank you for this reminder. It’s tiring and frustrating trying to do it all.

  4. Ashley says:

    Hannah, this post is so beautiful and so true. It’s in the getting quiet that we learn to listen to His voice and let Him lead on. Keep heralding this message to the masses, it’s a needed one right now!

  5. Hannah says:

    Thank you so much! This blogpost helped inspire me to write what God had put on my heart to write!
    Hope you have a wonderful day!
    God bless!❤️

  6. Marchella says:

    Thank you, Hannah, for sharing this message. I struggled with my words, my voice, His message inside me to be authentic and tell His truth. I judged what He gave knowing that He gave it to me but concerned with all the things that do not matter to reach who he has called me. From this message and yes it is a message to me, that I am yet still too focused on me and not on HIM. Blessings!

  7. Laurie says:

    Thank you for this message Hannah! I really needed this reminder, because Im clearly trying to create all by myself, and I need to invite HIM more into my projects!

  8. Kelle Fraser says:

    Hannah,
    I have felt a pull to write my entire life. I’ve done a little, but I’ve always wanted to write a book. I am 60-years old and the drive to write is greater than ever. So I decided to take your Summer Writing Intensive. I’m learning so much; however, I don’t think I have discovered that right idea/topic yet. I keep changing my mind and meanwhile not making much headway. Honestly, I have been praying and am struggling to hear anything from God other than “don’t give up.” As for the Intensive, I have been working on my notecards/outline for a young adult fantasy novel that I like, but don’t necessarily feel it’s divinely inspired.
    Do you think it would be prudent to work on the idea I have in order to get into the practice and discipline of writing? Keep praying and writing believing that I will hear from God as I move forward?
    And by the way, like many others, Come Mater Here continues to have a profound impact in my life. Thank you for your countless sleepless and chilly mornings writing that book!
    Kelle Fraser

  9. Christen Krumm says:

    Gaaaa. I love this, Hannah. xo, Christen

  10. Grace Davis says:

    Taking a "gap" semester after graduating college and currently reading fighting forward in the middle of Saluzzo, Italy. The Lord is kind and reminding me despite the season of numbness how kind and loving he truly is and that he IS working. Thank you for this blog, your books, and continuous realness that reminds so many of us why we are called to press into the God-given dream.

    ciao!

  11. Mary says:

    I love this. Very Beautiful Hannah xoxo, Thank you
    Sincerely
    Mary

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  13. Veronica Gonzalez says:

    Thank you for your writings! I found you on Instagram, came to your website for advent, and I am now lost in your blog. I’ve always loved writing, and God has been nudging at my heart lately to start putting stuff out there. You and your words have encouraged me ❤️

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Hi, I'm Hannah

I love writing about all things faith, mental health, discipline + and motherhood. Let's be penpals!

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