Life Lessons
Have you ever longed for a Moses Moment?
Not the time he faced off with the most powerful man on the planet armed merely with a mouthy sibling and a big stick, or the time he headed-up over a million people and set off to the sea chased by the aforementioned, seriously skitched off, most powerful man, and his huge army. I’m talking about the time he just downed tools and headed into the desert… for forty years.
I wasn’t feeling like I need forty years. But I’d got to the point where the idea of just staring at nothing, with no baggage, and no responsibilities sounded really appealing.
Impractical, but appealing
At times, the light at the end of the tunnel seemed to jolly well turn around and quick-step in the opposite direction. I know life can be a challenge. I understand things aren’t meant to be easy. I fully accept what doesn’t kill us makes us stronger (with an alarming side serve of a dark sense of humour). But the question I’d been pondering was…
Am I making things harder than they need to be?
I’d been weighing multiple things up on the “priorities vs reality” scale and consequently pitching previously-precious items overboard. It helped. But I was still going down (albeit at a slower rate). At the same time, I’d been doing a bit of a study in Galatians. I hadn’t got too far before I was hit over the head with a statement that stopped me in my tracks:
“[Paul’s] friends in Christ were deserting the God of grace, perverting the grace of God, and reverting to living by the flesh and their own resources. They had begun their Christian lives in the Spirit, but now they were going to try to continue in the power of the flesh.”* Gal 3:3
My capacity vs the capacity of God was a non-contest
The funny thing was, as soon as I acknowledged this and changed my perspective my life kind of erupted. Literally, like a tossed salad. One day I was struggling to fit everything in, the next I’d put my job on hold and become a full-time carer (the transition was a bit hectic – hence no newsletter last month). And now, my outlook has completely changed. I’m not in the desert, but I am in a season of… different… smoother sailing.
The light at the end of the tunnel not only stopped running away, it showed up and set up camp. I still have responsibilities… and baggage, but my perspective? It’s changed a lot… for the better.
Have you ever had a complete change blindside you positively?
And now for the writerly stuff!
With the change in routine, there’s not too much to report except…
- This month’s contribution to the SWG: Gilded with Fear. The themes we pulled from the hat for this one were Barricade and Violet.
- We held our inaugural Somerset Writers Group Anthology launch. It is our 6th book but our first launch. We are blessed to have amazingly talented members of the group who aren’t just brilliant writers, but by generously leaning into their organizing, hosting, catering and publicising skills, the afternoon was a huge success. (Photos below)
- I have been invited to run a writing workshop at the Queensland Writers Center at the State Library for a class of year 9 students who study online. They’re coming in from rural Queensland for the day and we get to hang out and have fun with poetry.
- I have created a shop! I am a bit excited and a tad nervous in case I’ve not done everything correctly. But anyhoo, time will tell. I have decided it was time to join the wise and wonderful who suggest selling one’s product from one’s website is the way to go. So, away I went. You can check it out here. Feel free to check it out and PLEASE TELL ME IF IT DOESN”T WORK. And also, if it does.
Shots of the Month
Photography not weaponry.
I have decided to reinstall my website Gallery. Follow this link to check out what I’ve been… checking out.
How about you?
Well, that’s enough about me, how has your mid-year marker measured up? Feel free to drop me a line to share your Moses wanna-be moments.
Until next time,
db
PS: All typos are my gift to you. They are evidence of an authentic, original newsletter, written with my own non-AI, typo-prolific, grammar assassin fingers : )
PPS: If this newsletter is not right for you, or if you feel it’s not right for you… right now, please feel free to hit “unsubscribe”.
*Warren W. Wiersbe, “The BE Series Bundle: Paul’s letters to the Galatians: Be Free” p548. David C Cook (2008)
