Embrace the Not Yet

I say to myself, “The LORD is my portion; therefore I will wait for him.” Lamentations 3:24 (NIV)

I’m graduating from the dreaming stage of planning a backyard remodel. We’ve actually talked about it for years, but I think it’s going to happen. Meaning… I might dig up some bushes in a few months.

If I could afford it, I’d rather have garden wonderland installed overnight this week. I’m patient–this weekend would be fine, too.

Anytime I decide on a plan or action, I want to move. That has something to do with personality. But I think everyone would like to skip through the boring or tough parts of life. It is easy to wish you were already on the other side of something.

This can happen in your writing life as well. You can wish that the story–as you imagine it could be–was already in a manuscript. But then comes editing, probably several kinds. If you’re slogging through edits, you might long to see the book bound and in hand. Or you might already dream about people sharing how it affected them. You might be “so over” the current story and you’d rather be plotting something shiny and new instead.

But there are lovely things about each phase. (Not just that you haven’t yet committed an irrevocable mistake.) But something that you will miss about the creative step you are on.

The freedom to imagine while plotting. There are no limits here.

The ability to play while writing–even if you know where it is going.

Refining your vision and bringing clarity to the text.

Resting, waiting to hear from others.

I don’t want to be so future-focused that I miss out on where I am, either in writing or in life.

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