Hello, Blogging Family! It’s been exactly one month and one day since my last post, which is one of my longer (possibly longest?) writing break for non-medical reasons. Praise God, all is well. So far Ivan and I are in good health, and have been unexpectedly busy ever since normal life resumed on January 2^nd. 

A few weeks before the New Year, I announced the astonishing news that God had provided a book contract for me to publish our story through Shepherd Press, a Christian publisher. I imagined the process to be fairly simple: sign various and sundry paperwork, email the manuscript I’d finished last year, discuss a few edits, and voila! A Book. 

If only. 

I realized I’d grossly miscalculated when I decided to reread the manuscript a couple of days before Christmas. I hate reading my own work (just like many people hate hearing their own voices on recordings), but now was not the time to be a wimp. I wanted to make sure everything was nice and shiny come January 2^nd. 

My immediate reaction upon opening the document was “Ugh! Who wrote this?!?” 

I’d like to say that the writing got better as I continued reading, or that I realized I’d overreacted. Unfortunately, neither of those is true. The day ended with me on my (metaphorical) knees, thanking God for allowing me to find favor with a gracious publishing house even though I couldn’t have earned it on my own. 

Over the next week, I feverishly reworked the manuscript so I could turn in the new and improved version to my editor by the beginning of the year. I didn’t know this at the time, but she’d already been working on the original during the holidays. My upgraded manuscript made me feel quite a bit better about myself, but it forced her to start from scratch. She is a very gracious woman.

I’d like to close with a picture of my average day, since every time you see a writer in the movies, they’re dashing off a life-changing manuscript with a few strokes of the pen…or typewriter…or laptop…

I usually rise at 6 am (Ivan’s up earlier), then eat breakfast and have personal devotion time. At 8 am, Zelda and I decide what kind of day we will have. Zelda (named for F. Scott Fitzgerald’s wife) is my two-year-old, half-Siamese kitty. We first began working together when I started the manuscript in 2021, and she is a dedicated partner and editor-in-chief. Each day, we must decide whether to start with the book, our preference, or a piece for my grad school class. (I was not able to take time off school to work on the book.) After selecting our project, we work until about 10 am, including mental breaks for me and at least one bath for Zelda. At 10 we diverge for physical therapy and lunch (me), sunbathing (her), and a nap (both). Around 2:30 we wake up and switch to whichever project – school or book – we didn’t do in the morning. Ivan materializes around 4, and soon after it’s time to cook (me) and be fed (Ivan, her). 

It’s a privilege to be a wife, a writer, a student, and a cat servant. Some mornings I wake up worried because all these privileges add up to a schedule that’s unhealthy for my physical limitations. According to the last written directions I have from neurology, I shouldn’t work more than 30 minutes at a time if I want to maximize brain health. And working too much affects more than just my brain. I can feel the weakness in my limbs as I hit snooze just one last time each morning. Ivan often reminds me that all body systems are connected: It’s a short step from being too tired, to feeling dizzy and having trouble walking, to spending the rest of the day in bed.

On the other hand, I realize that each of these responsibilities is a gift and I couldn’t earn single one of them. They’re all evidences of God’s grace to me. And if he’s granted me such blessings, God will grant me the stamina to enjoy them and use them for his glory.