A Fire, A Brick, And A Rope

Snippets of things to come:

I started something a couple of years ago and I am about to finish it. I can't wait to tell you about it. More on that next week. 

Back in the day, I was a singer. Okay, I still am a singer, but that part of my life has taken a back seat to other things in recent years. Those things included motherhood, various jobs, owning businesses, and writing a whole lot of songs for other people to sing. I've loved doing all those other things, but I always hoped I'd get back to the piano and the microphone at some point. I've also written a couple of books and have long planned to write more. I used to wrestle with the notion that anyone (namely me) who puts out an album or writes a book must have some kind of ego to think their words have enough value to put out into the world. I don't think that anymore. I've come to terms with the fact that I didn't put this creative spark inside of me, but I do have a responsibility to use it well, which means taking that spark and starting a fire every once in a while. More on that next week.

My friend Natalie encouraged me greatly a couple of weeks ago. I was telling her how frustrated I was because life hasn't been super kind lately and I had plans to build something I was excited about. Now, I wasn't sure I should keep building it. She told me she'd been studying Nehemiah in the Bible (if you haven't read about him, I recommend you do) and even though things got really difficult for him, he just kept building. She told me she thought maybe I should grab another brick and keep building. More on that next week.

One of the things that has kept me from moving forward on some plans was the fact that things have felt pretty broken lately. Like I needed to get it together before I could offer anything worthy of anyone's time. Maybe I was hoping life would be kinder soon and I could breathe a little easier. That hasn't exactly happened. BUT, I was listening to a podcast the other day and heard something that has changed my perspective a whole lot. The guest on the podcast basically said if someone is drowning and we throw them a rope that's new and shiny and slick, they won't be able to take hold of it and keep holding on. But if we throw them a rope that's old and knotted and worn, they will be able to grab it and hold onto it and be rescued. I guess that's how I've felt lately - like an old rope that's knotted and worn. Frayed and tested by the stuff of life. But maybe that's the kind of rope someone else can hold onto. So, I'm moving forward on those plans I had.  More on that next week. 

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