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Why I Wrote Five Decades of Devotion

BEHIND THE BOOK · FAITH JOURNEY

Jacqueline Ward

7/16/20262 min read

photo of white staircase
photo of white staircase

People often ask me, "Why now?" After fifty years of walking with God - through joy, through grief, through seasons I never could have predicted - why sit down and write it all out?

The answer is simple: because someone needs to know it's possible.

Possible to keep the faith when life doesn't make sense. Possible to find God in the ordinary Tuesday. Possible to look back over five decades and say, He was there in every single one.

It Started With My Mother's Bible

The seed for Five Decades of Devotion wasn't born at a desk. It was born the moment I held my mother's worn Bible in my hands and saw the handwritten notes in the margins - her prayers, her underlines, the dates she wrote beside verses that had carried her through.

I thought: This is a legacy. This is what faith looks like when it's lived, not just spoken.

That's what I wanted to give readers. Not polished theology. Real, lived-in faith - the kind that still has the fingerprints on it.

Fifty Years Is Not a Number. It's a Testimony.

When I say fifty years, I mean fifty years of mornings when prayer felt effortless, and mornings when I had to drag myself to the page. Fifty years of answered prayers and unanswered ones. Fifty years of watching God move slowly, quietly, and sometimes in ways I only recognized in hindsight.

That's the thing about a long faith walk - you can't see the pattern until you step back far enough to look.

This devotional is me stepping back. And inviting you to do the same.

What You'll Find Inside

Five Decades of Devotion isn't just reflections. It's a companion - built for the woman who wants to go deep, not just devotional-skim. Inside you'll find:

  • Daily Scripture with devotions rooted in real life

  • A Mood Tracker so you can find encouragement exactly where you are

  • Monthly gospel hymns with scannable QR codes - because some truths are better sung

  • A Topical Index so you can find what your heart needs today

  • Acts of Kindness suggestions to carry your faith into the world around you

It's 392 pages of this is what God has done - and an invitation to let Him do it in your life too.

My Prayer for You

Whether you've been walking with God for five years or fifty, my prayer is that this devotional becomes a place you return to. Dog-ear the pages. Write in the margins. Make it yours.

Because that's what faith does - it takes root, and it grows.

With love and gratitude,
Jacqueline Ward

If this resonated with you, The Waiting Room was written for moments exactly like this. Explore it here →

If this resonated with you, The Waiting Room was written for moments exactly like this. Explore it here


Ready to begin your own legacy of faith? Explore Five Decades of Devotion →