There is something incredibly vulnerable about sharing your story with someone other than your heart. Four years ago this month, I started this blog in order to be able to communicate to our family and friends the story of my sweet Mama and our family's journey with Alzheimer's. Apparently, it has morphed into something more, and I began to bleed over into different topics I was passionate about. Primarily; my God, my husband, my kids, and our mundane randomness that makes this life uniquely ours. Turns out, that mundane randomness has become my greatest joy, my most precious muse, and my cheapest therapy.
Through your kind words and encouragement, you have allowed me to breathe my life here in this forum. A forum that is as fragile to me as the words and vulnerability I express here. This seemingly vague http has become safe and familiar.
For as long as I can remember, written and spoken word have been an everyday norm of mine. Over the years, I have been given the opportunity to use my words in different categories; acting, debating, singing, teaching, sporting, preaching, instructing, leading, administrating, planning, parenting, coaching, marriaging (it's not a word, I was just trying to keep the 'ing' pattern going) and my favorite, WRITING.
Recently, we talked here on the blog about the intentional purging going on in my heart and life to make more space for what I KNOW I was created to be; a wife, a mom, and a artist. Over the last 32 days of fasting and over indulging, I stand in awe of the path God has paved before me.
One of my intentional areas for property expanding, has been to zero in on my words and try and break through into the great, big world of professional writing. It can be beastly. I took a TWO YEAR course, ten years ago about the ins and outs of magazine publishing, book publishing, etc..etc.. A lot in the world of publishing has changed in the last ten years. A.LOT!
I have kept my writing on an alter of sacrifice before God and begged Him to have His way with it. So often, the answer has been, "not now!" There were days, I told Mark, I felt like a caged lion, knowing deep in my toes that writing was going to be apart of my life forever. But when you are raising four babies into functioning children, manuscripts and magazine submissions take a back burner. And I determined to embrace my role of heart molder (although someday's I reflect heart smoosher) in their daily lives. This blog space has been the perfect outlet to continue to write without the pressures and added stress of a professional audience.
Without any more additional wordiness, I am UNBELIEVABLY pumped to share with you, my dearest friends, family, and readers, that this chica has submitted some of her pontifications to a magazine and *GASP* they want to publish some my work!
Can I tell just tell you what this means to my heart? For a long time, people have been VERY generous with complimenting my art (and that just pours life into my soul) but is feels so surreal to be validated by someone whose world and job is words. For an unbiased voice to say, "Your craft is valuable. Your words are worthy of a forum other than your Mama blog." *sigh*
I've struggled on how to communicate in a humble, but freakishly excited tone, about this opportunity. So many of you have been published twenty times over, and I think ya'll rock! So I feel selfish and immature celebrating this semi-insignificant moment in my journey. But I'm over that!
I AM SO EXCITED!!!!!
I AM SO EXCITED!!!!!
I AM SO EXCITED!!!!!
Ok, back to humble :)
I wanted you guys to be the first to know, because well, you have journeyed faithfully with me for so long and now you're stuck with me.
When the time is right, I will post everything you need to know about the article. Where it's being published, how you can get your hands on it, and how we can flood this magazine with new subscribers from around the globe.
Some would take the opportunity at this point, to encourage everyone to follow their dreams and never give up. In light of this small moment, I think that's dumb, over stated, and never the goal. People say that when they lack creativity. I have zero desire for you guys to pursue your dreams, because let me tell you, the majority of the life we have been called to live is NEVER, EVER about fulfilling our dreams. Today, I think of my brothers and sisters across the world who are watching their children be beheaded by ISIS, and I can assure you it's far from "dreamy".
However, I can encourage you to lay your specific craft, your precious art, your unique gifting, your undetermined desires, your heart, and most importantly your life on an alter of sacrifice before our Great God, and plead with Him to have His way with you. Warning: rarely does that lead you down a road covered with blooming roses, rather a road you never walk alone.
I started this blog to communicate with each of you the non-dreamy road my Mom and family had been called to walk. It is not lost on me that while she does not live and breath the air I live and breath, she is not at all absent from this undertaking. Her sweet fingerprints are all over it, and it is only right that my first "big, girl" published article, be about non-other than my Mama, and all the truths she molded into me.
Thank you for coming along side of me, (of us) and celebrating this super, exciting moment in the life of my writing!
Here's to all the crafting He has in store for us!
~Sara
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