In many ways, I could be described as a Prodigal Daughter, even though I never openly rebelled against God.
I was raised in the church and saved at 14. I walked closely with Christ through my teen years. However, as I reached college age, I grew lukewarm in my faith. Though I attended church, I stopped praying and reading the Bible, and I focused more on things of the world than on spiritual things.
When I began writing romance novels in 1982, I struggled briefly over whether to write books that dealt openly with sex. I managed to rationalize it, however, and when my work became popular, I told myself that God was making it all happen.
When my 13-year marriage ended in 1990, it was a terrible tragedy for me, but I now believe God used it to help me turn back to Him. I moved back to my hometown, where I found a church that offered a divorce recovery ministry and an active singles program. Through that ministry, I began getting my life back on track. I met my husband Ken through the church and we married in 1992.
But I still wasn’t able to give up my romance writing. I told myself I was reaching more people that way than I could writing Christian fiction. I disregarded the fact that what I was writing was helping no one — in fact, my work was full of lies that pointed people away from God instead of to Him.
In 1994, Ken realized he had never had more than an intellectual knowledge of Jesus. He came to know Christ as his Lord and Savior, and became the spiritual leader that I had yearned for all my life.
Ken’s example rekindled my own fire for Christ. I finally saw that my work was an obstacle between Christ and me, and a stumbling block for others. It didn’t matter how many people read my work; if I couldn’t tell them what I knew — what would solve their problems and change their lives — it was of no good.
Since I’ve made my commitment to write books that glorify God, He has opened door after door for me. I am excited about using my gift to challenge other Christians and point unbelievers to Him.