A Pebble in My Shoe

Have you ever had a pebble in your shoe?  It is such a small thing, but such a huge irritant.  In life, those irritants come in many forms; I'm sure there is no need for me to list them.  Sometimes we can take off our "shoe" and eliminate the offending item, and sometimes we can't.

The familiar "Serenity Prayer" attributed to Reinhold Niebuhr is:
God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change,
The courage to change the things I can,
And wisdom to know the difference.

This is what much of life is about.  If we cannot remove a pebble, we have to learn how to live with it, or look for change at a different time and in a different place.

Good books will actually insert those pebbles into the story.  They seem little and insignificant, and yet they don't sit right with us.  They irritate.  But with a masterful stroke, at the right time and place they are removed or resolved.  It is then that we realize they were placed there on purpose, for a specific intent.

On the other hand, poorly written books at times unintentionally have pebbles which are never removed.  All they do is irritate.

I believe that our lives often have intentional pebbles.  They help us learn and grow.  They have a purpose.  I heard a man yesterday say, "A smooth sea does not produces a skilled sailor."  So maybe in life (and books) it is best not to ask for a smooth journey, but a successful and satisfying one instead.

Paying It Forward

This last week was an amazing week!  I finished the major edits/rewrites of my book.  I am now actually ready to send it off and hopefully find a willing publisher.  It's a great feeling!

But what also made it great was a conversation I had last night with another aspiring writer.  I was able to offer words of encouragement along with a few suggestions.  It prompted thoughts of when Kristen Gough, another writer, offered support and gave me pointers when I began my own crazy writing adventure.

This world really is a better place when we all try to help each other.  I have been incredibly blessed by the kindnesses of others.  Hopefully, I in turn, can bless the lives of others.  Looking for opportunities to do just that is, I think, a great way to begin this new year!

What You Might Least Expect

Over the Christmas holiday a friend of ours asked us to babysit his wife's two poinsettia plants.  My husband's first response was, "Does he know?"  I knew exactly what he was talking about.  Our friend had no idea that we have black thumbs.  We can kill any plant within a half mile radius.  After I had said, "Sure, we'll watch your plants," I explained out lack of skill in that matter.

To his credit as a friend, he still trusted us with his wife's beloved poinsettias.  I'm not sure it was a wise move, and I hope that his wife will eventually forgive him.

Now, amazingly, the plants are still alive and even apparently thriving!  Who knew?  I've even been enjoying their beauty.

I always thought the poinsettia plant was somewhat interesting.  The "flowers" aren't actually blooms; they are just more leaves, but of a different color.  It is and isn't what it appears.

How many things in life are like the beautifully colored poinsettia leaves?  How often does something appear to be one thing while actually another.  But in the end, does it matter that the colorful "flower" is not made from petals, but from leaves?  It may not be what we expect, but the end result is still the same.

Maybe at this time when a year is ending and a new one beginning, we can take the time to look at those around us.  Are the perfect?  Do they do things the way we would like them to?  Probably not.  But are they still beautiful individuals?  Do they have strengths and talents and characteristics that we admire?  Then let us focus on those.  That sounds like a great resolution to me!

So, with that thought, I wish you all a Happy New Year!

The Importance of a Satisfactory Ending

The more books I read, the more I come to accept that for me it's all about the ending.  I have read books that were hard to put down, but then I got to the ending only to be sorely disappointed.  That conclusion was enough to turn my opinion upside down about the whole book!

In life, what I hope for most, and strive to accomplish, is a happy ending.  When all is said and done, will my life have been one that brought more happiness or more misery to others?  Will I be able to stand before my maker and look Him in the eye, or will my gaze be downcast instead?

When I am crafting a book, the ending is one of the first things that I imagine.  Then everything in the book builds, leads, grows to that conclusion.  I believe I have taken the same approach in life!

Patience

Patience, it is said, is a virtue.  I am not a patient person.  For instance, once I decide on a course of action, I want to do it and be done with it.  But much of life requires us to be patient.

I'm sure you can think of a myriad of instances where patience is necessary.  Often, because it is necessary, we learn to be patient.  What alternative do we have?  The real question is will we let that patience work in us or will we let our impatience ruin the moment.

Writing a book is one of those areas for me that requires patience. It takes time to write that many words to start with, but it is more than that.  To say that I had all of the details of my story worked out in my head before I began writing would be an out and out lie.  It has taken time to discover my characters, their thoughts and feelings, and the experiences they will have.  It cannot nor should not be rushed.

I have read books by well-known authors who got impatient with later works, not taking the time to properly edit or work out the kinks in the story.  It shows - impatience has ruined the moment.  Fortunately, that is the exception and not the rule.  If anything, I usually notice a greater maturity in later works.  Patience with one book and then multiple books has performed its work and deeper, richer books are the result.

I don't know about you, but I don't like the process of learning to be patient.  However, I like who I become when that learning is done.

Ice Storms

Much of the country has been encased in ice sometime during the last week.  Amazingly, something so simple as frozen water can shut down airports, close schools, cause accidents and create general havoc.  Simple things, when brought together under the right circumstances, become anything but simple.

Isn't life like that?  There are so many things that seem little to begin with, but given the right set of circumstances, they completely overturn our lives - sometimes in positive ways and sometimes not.

In works of fiction, seemingly little things are wonderful tools to play with - a misplaced key, a strange phone call, a small patch of ice.  I must say I enjoy messing with character's lives in these ways in a book.  But with real life, maybe not so.  Probably, simply because I can't control the outcome.

Gratitude

Thanksgiving was just here and with it came many thoughts of what we are grateful for.  I am certainly thankful for big things like family, but I am also grateful for the little things like playing games and doing puzzles with that family, or "I love you" spoken from my mother to my father.

There are those in this world who are good at being thankful for the small things that occur every day of their lives.  They remind me to stop and pay attention to those things.  We don't always notice the bird's nest in the tree or the baby birds inside.  We may not notice the way the sun reflects off the snow in winter, making everything sparkle.

One of the joys (and challenges) of writing a book is being able to put in those small things we might not notice.  I get to write about the sunset and the sound of birds in the morning.  Setting the scene might include describing tree-lined boulevards and children laughing in backyards.  Stepping into a kitchen can bring with it pleasant aromas and the memories they evoke.

These little things add richness to a book, just like they add richness to our lives.  May we both - writer and not - remember to notice them.