WRITING & STITCHING...TWO OF MY FAVORITE PASTTIMES!!

(Grab a cup of coffee or your favorite beverage, for I've got a story to share!)

Ever since I was a small girl, I have loved to write. Finding the words to put on paper have always come easy for me. I've written short stories, poems, essays and even a play at the tender age of 12. But beyond that, I never pursued writing or took it seriously. Oh, I took it seriously enough to want to minor in Journalism in college, but then my plans for college fell through the floor when my parents divorced when I was in high school. So like the forgotten book on the dusty bookshelf, I put my hopes, dreams and goals aside for living what I thought was the life I was supposed to live. You know that life...the one after high school that one believes is supposed to happen when college is not an option. I went to work full-time, got married and had kids. I don't regret taking that path in my life because had I traveled a different road, I would not have had my three kids who are my heart & soul, pride & joy!

Even with the joys & rewards that motherhood brings, I've always felt like I'd missed my calling somehow. That inner part of me...(motherhood, marriage and job aside, the one that has a tendency to tap us lightly on our shoulders when it's trying to get our attention), has nagged me for years. I've often been amazed at what I've been able to put to paper. I reflect that if I'd had anything to do with it, there is no way I could have made it sound so eloquent. I believe my passion for writing comes from somewhere beyond just inside of me. I find when I write I can only do so when I am prompted. I get this urge within to put my thoughts on paper and when acted upon, I am in awe and convinced that what I possess is a gift from God and I am merely a vehicle through which He speaks.

I remember what Alan Jackson said when interviewed after he wrote the song, "Where Were You When the World Stopped Turning". He said the words just came to him when he awoke one morning and he knew he had a song to write. He said that God sent him the song. Every time I am prompted in such a way, I think about those words and can fully relate. I'm also a firm believer that when God wants us to do certain things, He won't stop trying to gain our attention until He succeeds.

Even reinforcement by friends and colleagues through the years when they would tell me, 'you have a way with words', 'you have the gift of gab', or 'have you ever thought about writing..you're good' wasn't enough to make me believe that what I was destined to do was write. I think to a sense we all believe we are destined for great things in life and I am no exception. The truth is, I have thought about writing, but pursuing it seemed so far out of reach...until now.

My story is very similar to that of Alan Jackson's. I awoke one morning last August with an idea and knew I had to get it on paper. To start, I had a mere few thoughts with no idea of what direction those thoughts would take me. As I began to write, it didn't take long for me to realize that I was on to something. I kept writing and words became sentences, turning into paragraphs, then pages, and then from there grew into chapters. Now fifty chapters later, I will soon be completing my first novel. It's a work of fiction; a romance/suspense novel. As this story has unfolded, another idea has been given to me for a spin off novel that will be a sequel to this one which will involve some of the same characters from the first book. And from there, one of my book's characters will have her own book down the road. Most writers experience writer's block, which is something I have yet to be privy to. As I mentioned, I have only written when I've been prompted to do so and the words have flowed without fail. The entire book has been written that way. Just when I think a given chapter may unfold a certain way, as I begin to write, it literally unfolds on its own.

As time has gone on and the book has progressed, it's become increasingly more apparent that this dream of being a published author is closer to becoming a reality more than ever. If I ever needed a sign...(outside of being hit square on the forehead from the Maker, Himself), I got that sign today. I work for a University and received in my mailbox a brochure of courses being offered on campus for the Fall. As I opened the brochure to the first page, the first course listed was one entitled, "Write Your Life" and then as I perused the brochure in full I came across another course entitled, "Almost Ready to Publish". I couldn't believe my eyes. What is the likelihood that the timing of these courses would be made available to me about the same time I am just before completing my first novel? Too coincidental you might think. I think not! Everything happens for a reason, in its own season and time.

Ironically all of my former passions have now come back around again. I spent well over a decade away from cross-stitching because I believe now that my love of this craft was not meant to be a part of my life during the past ten years. Now since writing has also resurfaced in my life, I find as I stitch my two greatest passions become intertwined and I draw inspiration from both that help to further enhance the creativity that dwells within me.

So...yes...I could have tried to find a way to attend college back then which would have put me on a completely different journey over these last twenty three years. I have no regrets about the many turns my life has taken along the way. I kinda like the way the plan has revealed itself as I've gone along rather than having it mapped out as a graduating high school Senior beginning on the road to success all those many years ago. It's almost as if my life has come full circle and I can't wait to see what lies up ahead!