Interview with Bekah Grace, author of I Am Your God

In her new book I Am Your God, Bekah Grace helps kids discover who God is and how much he loves them. 90 faith-building devotions help children aged 7 and over learn about different aspects of God’s character as they explore daily Bible verses. Questions encourage them to think about how God can be part of their daily lives, and prayers help them talk to God.

Beautifully written and illustrated by Bekah Grace, the 90 devotions in I Am Your God reveal why God is the best friend kids could ever have and how much he does for them every day!

Bekah, can you tell us a little about yourself?

I come from a very multicultural background! I was born in the United States, grew up as a missionary kid in Bolivia, attended university in the USA and Spain, and then moved to the UK to be with my husband!

I live in Leicester with my husband and cat. For the past 5 years I’ve been working as a freelance children’s book illustrator alongside taking an active role in my church and wider community. When I’m not illustrating, you can often find me in my garden – tending to the flowers and bumblebees. I am passionate about the planet and see so much of God’s beauty in nature.

Your new book is I Am Your God. Can you tell us a little about the book, and why and who you have written this for?

I Am Your God is a devotional designed to show the many ways God takes an active role in our lives every day. Throughout the book I wanted to show the character of God and why we can trust him in every season of life.

The reason I wrote this book is a bit of a long story. When I moved from the United States to England I really struggled with my mental health. I found it hard to cope adjusting to a new culture, being far from family and friends, and finding my place in England. In this season of life I questioned everything about myself – I needed something to cling to – something certain. And I was flooded by memories from my childhood – songs I’d learned, Bible verses I’d memorised, and stories I’d hear about God. I clung to him, the one I can trust, who never changes.

I started drawing pictures of God (that’s the illustrator in me!) and the words followed. I’ve put this devotional together to help children (and adults) realise that when life is falling apart, we have a God that can hold us together.

You have previously focused on illustrating books for other authors. How does it feel illustrating and writing your own book?

It feels amazing to have written this book. Whenever I look back on the amount of work that went into it, I’m reminded that I could not have done it without the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, my husband’s support, and the help of my family and friends!

I enjoy working with authors to illustrate their stories, but there was something special about creating illustrations for my own words and getting to be on both sides of the creative process – words AND pictures! Working on this book has ignited a desire in me to continue writing and hopefully will lead to authoring more books of my own in the future.

You introduce kids to the Trinity, and illustrate the Father, Son and Holy Spirit as different characters to help distinguish each. Why was this important to you to do, and how did you come up with each illustration?

As Christians, we have one God with three distinct entities and that’s what I tried to explain and show in this book. The Father, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit come through in different ways throughout the Bible and acknowledging the roles they play in our lives (while always being one in the same) felt important.

Some illustrations came easier than others, but with all of them they were inspired by Bible verses and the creative ideas that flowed from those verses.

You focus on the ‘I am’ sayings of God. We can all think of a few, but how did you go about selecting 90 of them? Was it an easy or difficult process?

When I originally came to the idea of using “I am” statements I thought I’d make a 30-day devotional to be completed in a month. Then after chatting with Authentic Media, we decided it would be nice to make the book a bit longer, so we landed on 90 days!

I want to say it was easy to create this list of 90 “I am” statements, but it was difficult! Because each statement is supported by a Bible verse, I only wanted to use words and statements that reflected the Bible passages I was reading. I ended up making a list of 120 statements (some of them were really . . . creative ha ha ha!) and I sent this list to 6 friends. I asked them to pray over the list and cross off the ones they didn’t think fit. And in the end through prayer and feedback I solidified the 90 statements that made it into the book!

A lot of thought has gone into the illustrations to help kids engage and understand the message of each devotion. Can you share a little of the process on how you arrive at a particular illustration?

The process varied slightly from illustration to illustration as the ideas for some came a lot easier than others. But for the most part, the illustrations came after I had written the statement, found the Bible verse, and written the words. When the words were written I reflected on each statement, for example “I am your Companion”. What does it mean for God to be my companion? – it means he’s there for me through everything life brings, the ups and the downs. And I thought of a roller coaster going up, down, and all around – through it all God stays right next to me!

For the statements that felt particularly difficult to think of an image for, I would pray and ask the Holy Spirit for inspiration. And often while I would pray, I would get a picture. Sometimes the picture would come while I was falling sleep, cooking dinner, or out for a walk!

What was the most challenging element of writing this book?

The most challenging elements of writing this book was feeling like an imposter - I had to resist thoughts like “Who am I to write this book?” “I’m not an author.” “I’m not qualified.” “I don’t know how to write a devotional.”

I felt a lot like Moses probably felt after God asked him to lead the Israelites out of Egypt. I felt unqualified and a bit afraid – but that is the beauty of stepping out in faith. I experienced the encouragement and strength of God in the midst of my weakness.

And what was the most rewarding element of writing this book?

The most rewarding part of writing this book was knowing that I had done what God had asked me to do! And now the outcome is in his hands. I have been praying this book would touch little hearts and help build the faith of the children who read it.

Have you learnt anything new/ been reminded afresh about your own personal journey with God while writing this book?

A million times yes! Every time I sat down to write I felt challenged, encouraged, and filled with hope.

I did not write this book from a position of feeling like I know God better than anyone else because I don’t. This book has come from a deep realisation that every day, I need God more because I am weak. And every day he is everything I need which gives me hope.

What do you hope readers will most get out of reading this book?

I hope that readers will see a reflection of God’s unconditional love for them. And I also hope a better understanding of God and who he is will cause them to love him too.

In one sentence, how would you describe I Am Your God?

I Am Your God is a reminder of God’s unshakable love and presence in our lives today, tomorrow, and forever.

Is there anything we can pray for you?

Yes! You can pray that as God continues to speak to me that I would listen, respond, and step out in faith. His plan is always much better than my own.

I am Your God is available at Eden today.