Double Trouble (26 page)

A few years ago, I brought the wrong child to camp. It wouldn't have been a big deal except camp is six hours from my house (one way), and I'd made a big production of packing and making sure my son was all ready. Instead, my daughter should have been the one with the clean sleeping bag and the fresh socks. Somehow (through the graciousness of a good friend), she made it to camp, but the story lives in infamy in our family as an example of Mom's tendency to overcommit.

And it wouldn't be as funny if it didn't happen all the time. Yes, in my head I think I
can
write four books a year, redecorate my house, run the children's church program, write and produce a children's musical, run a story-crafting service, teach at conferences, speak at women's retreats, help my hubby with his business, and be the kind of mom who throws huge prom parties. It's just that they
all
sound like great ideas! And I like being at the center of the fun!

However, it doesn't get pretty when I miss events or perhaps lose my temper or wind up in bed with a migraine or a cold. Worse, I'm my own accuser
 
—why can't I get it right? I hate my own mistakes, my own tendencies to get in over my head. I hate looking backward with a wince.

I brought this frustration to the page in
Double Trouble
 
—
in PJ's desire to be the Greatest PI on Earth and her tendency to both overcommit and see trouble wherever she turns. I
wanted her to fall, to scrub her chin on the ground, and to taste failure. Because only then could I tell her what I long to hear myself
 
—that God doesn't expect us to be perfect or not to make mistakes. He longs to forgive us . . . and then to empower us.

“
Draw with confidence to the throne of grace, because I promise you'll find mercy.”
I love that message, because it's when I am most distraught that I must remember God is the best friend I can have. He's not going to love me less after He saves me than before! He longs to reach out and pull me close, despite my perceived ugliness, because He is crazy about me, as hard as that is for me to believe sometimes.
“Draw with confidence. . . .”

The PJ Sugar series is all about discovering that God has great plans for even messy girls
 
—like PJ, like me. He likes them! He made them this way, and He doesn't expect them to be perfect. I hope you'll continue PJ's journey with me in the next book, tentatively titled
Licensed for Trouble
, due out later this year. Thank you for reading. Draw with confidence, friend!

IN HIS GRACE,

Susan May Warren

Susan May Warren is a former missionary to Russia, the mother of four children, and the wife of a guy who wooed her onto the back of his motorcycle for the adventure of a lifetime. The award-winning author of over twenty books, Susan loves to write and teach writing. She speaks at women’s events around the country about God’s amazing grace in our lives. Susan is active in her church and small community and makes her home on the north shore of Minnesota, where her husband runs a hotel.

Visit her Web site at
www.susanmaywarren.com
.