Several years ago, I wrote an editorial in Guideposts about how we investigate every Mysterious Ways story that we decide to print. Obviously, there are limits—we can’t see the dream someone had, or go back in time to witness a miraculous encounter. We fact check and verify what we can via other sources and we question every author on the details; but ultimately, we need to judge whether he or she seems trustworthy.
In my experience, it’s easy to tell when someone is making things up as they go along. Few people are like Keyser Söze, the infamous character from The Usual Suspects; truth comes out. Our new assistant editor was verifying a story this week when the author confessed that the experience she’d written about had really been just a dream.
We do pay our authors, of course—but as a non-profit organization, our budget isn’t big. The biggest reward you get is becoming a published author in a national magazine, and sharing your personal miracle with the world. As Evangelina Garza, one of our authors in the upcoming August/September issue, told me, God gave her a miracle so that she would share his glory with others. Telling her story in our pages was one way to thank God for what he had done for her.
While some of our writers have used being published in Guideposts and Mysterious Ways as a springboard for their writing careers, you don’t have to be a “writer” or an “expert” to send your story to us. We’re not a literary magazine or a scientific journal. We’re not necessarily looking for the next Sue Monk Kidd or Dr. Eben Alexander. You don’t need great writing skills or impeccable credentials. If you’ve had an experience but don’t know how to tell it, send us the details, write it out as best you can, and if it moves us, our editors will work with you. Because what matters is the miracle—and we want to help you share it with others.
This is your magazine. We provide the paper, the ink, the editing and the distribution, but it’s your eyes and ears (and God’s hand) that provide the miracles. Send your true Mysterious Ways stories to us, and trust us to do what we can to get them out there to the world.
