A Year of Change...

“One path in life is lonely, directionless and hopeless. The other is taking the hand of Jesus and letting Him guide you along the way.” ~ GodVine on Facebook

There’s a Readers Digest contest of 150 words of Thankfulness and what it means to you. Promote? A contest should be judged on merit of a story, not how many votes you can get, and in hindsight, I wished I never would have entered.

Seeing that I have no friends, or not that many really like me and who have basically pushed me out of a circle I once belonged to, I scaled the ropes reaching for the 100 votes mark while others, who had friends, neared the 1000 mark and the 20,000 mark.

This really gave me an idea of where I want to go with my writing. Seeing that book sales are all about the people you know. Nothing stands on its own legs any more and if you have a novel to sell, it goes for 4.99,  the ebook trade swallows it up, and you never really get recognition unless your name is King, or someone in the industry (think Ellen or Oprah) promotes you.

This year has brought about many drastic changes. None that I have had any control of but changes that I’ve been a part of the unraveling of, like a ball of yarn.

We began the year in the unknown. Would this be the year that the Blind Man sees? As March approached swiftly, we were off on doctor visits and running around on the legs of hope and prayer. I understand intrinsically that waiting is not just a requirement that God asks of us, it is a measure of faith. Not diminishing faith, but some have a better resilience on the waiting bar than others who want it now. They think, “I prayed and I want it now. I shouldn’t have to WAIT!” But guess what, you HAVE to wait and as I’ve learned over the years, that waiting is just a small part of the plan. Sure I have my anxious moments, but I know if I wait patiently, the Lord will take care of everything. Then the anxiety is diminished.

July brought about an unexpected blessing. I received a laptop. It was a strange miracle because I’m used to everyone else receiving them and I sit and watch the glory of God take shape and form. But in this instance, I was the receiver. Then I decided, against my better judgment, to mentor f2k, thinking this would help me relieve some of the anxiety I was facing, little did I know, it was the culmination of a poignant year of realization. It opened my eyes in the writing world. F2k changed my life in more ways than one.

Ironic isn’t it? October brought about the the sight being restored to my man, and for me, the sight into the reality of my life and where it is going? The month began in pain for me as my mouth needed attention, but I’d have to suffer in pain and give my undivided attention to matters at hand. Sight is a pretty big thing that I think we all take for granted, and until it is taken away for years, you’ll never really understand the level of dependence you have on your sight.

Trip after trip to Omaha, took its toll on my body, and finally my mouth hit a heightened pain that could no longer be ignored, but who would help me? Again, no close friends, I slept in pain and rose in anguish until someone near to me like a mother said, “Get to the dentist! I’ll help!” As tears rolled down my face, I made the appointment and felt the loving arms of God once again embrace me.

Life will shape into a ball if I allow it, or into a pile of dung, either way, the year will come to rest on change. Change in focus, change in direction, a broad change in the path I’ve decided to travel down.

Baby Steps...

Follow your passion, and success will follow you. 

~Terri Guillemets

Baby Steps ...
 
...into the world of writing

I remember watching a movie, quite a few years back titled, What About Bob, starring Billy Murray, and who cares who else was in it, it had Bill Murray. (I’m kidding, I’m sure it had quite a few other good named actors in it) Veering off topic there. In the movie (which I own and watch over and over again) Bob fears everything, so he goes to a doctor who basically forwards him to a specialist.

Long story short. The doctor tells Bob to take baby steps, every second of the day, so that he can get to where he is going, and eventually in the end (after a long hilarious bout of driving his doctor insane) Bob is healed, sorta, kinda, somewhat. teeheehee! Are any of us ever really healed, come on now, be honest.

I have a knack for shamelessly calling writers insane, but I’m telling you, you’ll be hard pressed to find writers themselves saying otherwise. They’ve gathered in their cubby holes, tapped on the keys for days at a time, expounded on the threshold of many words, (eww, that sounds gross) and have all come to the conclusion that they are sane. A sane writer? Now that is some funny stuff.

What is needed is baby steps. You can’t just think that you can write because you see a bunch of other writers hammering at the book, don’t believe for a minute that you can knowledge yourself into writing, by that I mean, you can study until you’re blue in the face, if you don’t have what it takes, it isn’t going to happen for you.

I’ve seen so many come into the Village, (wvu) WANTING to be writers and they quickly gave up when they realized, they were not cut out to be a writer. They crammed, purchased, shelled out time and money, but still in the end, they missed the passion of a writer. They had the will to write, but without the drive and nerve ending passion that it takes to wait, years and years before an ounce of effort pays off, they quickly dissolved from the radar screen.

They actively pursued someone else's writing dream, just to fit in. That is seriously not the way to do it. I have been writing since I was a baby and learned HOW to write the alphabet. I took baby step after baby step, and grew to write poetry, for my English classes, for holidays, and actually I saved money. I entered free contest (vanity) only to be let down but still, I persisted. (I did win honorable mention, but wondered how many others won that title also.)

It wasn’t until about 10 years ago when a computer magically walked into my house, free of charge, that my entire life and writing dream took a turn around. I diligently sought out writing groups where I could feel a part of something.

After taking a two year writing course with Christian Writers Guild came to a close, the fire was lit and my passion burned inside as I grew as a writer. And I’m still taking baby steps but now, I feel as if they are strides, strides in the right direction after cutting out the insanity and moving forward.

My baby steps have led to a full gaping walk. How about you?

Joni Zipp's : https://apps.facebook.com/yourlifecontest/content/see-again