Line Upon Line

I was visiting with a friend this morning and she said, "I remember a few years ago when you seemed to be having such a hard time. You seemed lost and sad, and then you started writing. After that, you blossomed. I wish I could have something like that happen to me."

I remember the time she's talking about. I remember feeling unhappy and lost, wondering where my niche was. The funny thing is, I didn't suddenly wake up and decide to be a writer. Honestly, it happened in teeny, tiny baby steps.

I love to read, and when I was in my early thirties I thought it might be fun to try to write something. Just for fun. Just to see if I could. My computer crashed and I lost that story. There were only a few chapters so I wasn't too broken up about it, but I didn't write again for about three years. And then I connected with Elizabeth Mueller who also loved to write. (our daughters were in the same preschool) We started getting together, reading each other's work. She taught me the basic rules (because I knew NOTHING) and taught me how to edit.

It wasn't long before I'd fallen in love with the art of writing. It took time and practice. I'm still learning. I hope I always will be, and now I've been writing for four years. I'm proud of where I am. I'll never stop. It's my new love, and I'm good at it.

The thing that I want to point out is that something like this doesn't just fall in your lap. It's little by little, line upon line. Tiny coincidences. Experiences that seem small at the time, but when you look back on them, were huge turning points.

If you don't feel like you've found your niche, don't worry. Things happen when the time is right. But don't be afraid of grabbing an opportunity when it comes by. You don't want to miss your chance!