How Puzzled Without You Came to Be

Puzzled Without You was written during one of the “turning-point years” of my life.

As of the moment, 2018 was our last visit to America, the country I grew up in. While waiting for the rest of our family to finish shopping, my dad and I were standing next to each other talking. I was sharing about my stories on Wattpad and my desire to publish a book. My dad then challenged me to “write about your life, what God has done for you, your experiences, etc.”

His challenge made me pause. I was so used to writing Christian fiction and fantasy and blogs, that I had to think about what I could possibly say in an officially published book about my life. Little did I know that God was moving in ways beyond what I could ask or imagine.

Later in 2018, and in early 2019 as I ended my senior year in high school, I went through a lot of balancing and releasing of weight. Although I enjoyed what I was doing, and wanted to do as much as possible, I was also struggling to release some weight on my heart and mind.

As I also struggled to write Puzzled Without You, I asked God to lead me into writing words that would reflect Him and what He wants for me. I ended up receiving ten words that had helped me grow through my seasons of life, and hopefully encourage, enlighten, and empower.

Now even if the words were written down, I asked God to give me the right title. At first, I thought of “A World Without You” because the world would be incomplete without each of us and we would be incomplete without God. However, my uncles challenged me to find something else, something less ‘romantic’ sounding. It was then that I realized that puzzles were on my heart for the cover of the book. So why not name it “Puzzled Without You?” From then on, everything followed, from the words in the book to how to share it with others. And I’m amazed with how God has used each word to encourage readers.