July 10, 2024

 

It’s time to step off the path for a moment. Take a break from the journal entries… because after 2008, I didn’t make any until 2019.

 

What happened? Well, I wrote a novel in 2009 & 2010. I guess that sort of replaced journaling. And after getting nice and settled at that job in the sticks, the original one I’d heard about came open. The one I doubted I’d be qualified for, and even if I did surely someone better would be in the mix. Against all odds, they offered it to me. Even now I’m astonished, long after the newness has worn off. It’s been hard, it’s been rewarding, and after all this time I still look back with gratitude.

 

The job change was closer to home, yet it necessitated moving. Try as we might to find a place that was newer or at least updated, it didn’t work out. We ended up in a fifty year-old fixer upper. I didn’t want to take it on, committing to all the work it needed. Until I came to my senses and remembered one of the core tenets of life–old things are better than new things. What a gem. It has become the best home. And served as a key lesson to question myself and trust in others. After all our research and review of other places, less than impressed by the lot (in our price range, at least), it was the realtor who suggested we take a look at this one. God used her, and the wisdom of parents to get us in the right one.

 

So that long journaling gap was filled with such things of life as you, my fellow travelers, have been up to as well. Remodeling a home. Learning a new job. A growing family. These changes consumed my energy and mental capacities, and I didn’t write at all for many years. But I read books on writing craft. I knew personally the man in charge of audio recordings for American Christian Fiction Writers conventions. While mowing the yard, I listened to untold hours of instruction from authors, agents, editors, and publishers. Honing skill and preparing for the inevitable change of seasons.

 

 

When a new season of life began, I picked up the journal again in 2019. More on that next time.

 

I’m not going to overlook all that took place leading up to it. I’m going to do my signature move–stopping, turning, looking back on all those years from an overlook. The days are long and the years short, yes? So cliche, so true. My prayer for you is that when you come to a change of seasons and look back over the course of years, what you see will take your breath away.

 

 

You grind every day and years stream past. But this monotony is a deception. What changes, what achievements, what milestones mark your last ten years? Do not forget. Dwell. Compare your life now to then. How far you’ve come, what good you’ve done, what blessings have come to you. They’re all from His hand, whether you realized it or not. And yes, what you’ve lost.

 

If life seems dull, reflecting back, if you struggle to recall and feel numb, disillusioned with the mundane passage of time… I would say you have not indulged enough. Projects at work, paying bills, daily routines–all of these must be done, but they fade. Memories must be made. Carve out the time for the special occasions. Take the trips. Live your dreams. These are the times that stick with you. Not work, but leisure time spent with friends. Go to a concert, yes, even as an adult. Clear your weekend when old friends come back to town, no matter how busy you are (you’re always busy, aren’t you? And tired.) Tweak your vacation to pay a visit to them when you’re out of town. Save up. Make it happen. These are the tent poles of life.

 

Martha was selfless, serving Jesus and others, just as we should. Her service wasn’t the problem, it was her priorities. How many chances would she have to sit at the feet of Jesus? That was not the time for mundane necessities. Only one thing was necessary–indulge in the moment with Him, who was only with her for a limited time. I’m guilty of being Martha nine times out of ten. But to share in the fullness of life, we must seek the heart of Mary, basking while the sun shines, never taking it for granted.

 

Let the grass grow a little higher, and meet up with that friend you haven’t seen in a while in a coffee shop. Make the world wait for a spell. Because you never know when the season will change. How long you’ll have them. You could visit with any number of friends or family members at just about any time. Until you can’t. Then what you once did on a whim, you’d give $10,000 to do again–meet up in a coffee shop for two hours, just one more time.

 

Be cliche. Stop to smell the flowers.

 

 

Write On,

 

Fellow Traveler