The Bible tells us not to despise the day of humble beginnings.  I know this is going to sound a little dramatic (and probably slightly ridiculous since I’ve only been blogging for a few short weeks), but writing is a life long dream of mine and even though for the most part it’s primarily me and my four closest friends hanging out here in this space, I am so loving every second of it.

When I was a little girl I was a huge Nancy Drew fan.  My grandparents would give me and my sister $2 each week as an allowance, but Nancy Drew books cost $2.95 each.  So I could only buy a new one every other week. Incidentally, I used the leftover $1.05 less tax to buy 10 cent pieces of fudge in the cafeteria at school every day.  Even back then, chocolate and books were my favorite things!

I remember the excitement of going to the bookstore with my mom, also a lover of books, and spending what seemed like hours picking out the best one to read next. Remember the Intimate Bookshop? Loved that place! Because I could only get one book every other week I actually read them VERY slowly.  I savored every word.  I hated finishing one and not being able to go on to the next one immediately.  The wait was excruciating.  I would lie in bed at night and think about how eventually Nancy and Ned might get married.  Then they could drive around together in her blue convertible, her titian red hair blowing in the wind.

At some point I actually began dreaming about how I would write a Nancy Drew novel.  I spent hours trying to come up with the perfect mystery, the right amount of danger, the logical explanation for seemingly other worldly phenomena, and of course the appropriate cast of supporting characters.  I even wrote letters (that never reached the mail) to Carolyn Keene to ask permission to continue the series on her behalf in the event of her death or inability to continue her reign as Mystery Writing Queen.  Since we didn’t have internet back then I had no idea Carolyn Keene was a pseudonym used by numerous contract authors to write the series anonymously. I was disappointed greatly by that piece of information. 

All that to say, a dream was birthed in my heart and at different times over the years it has surfaced in different forms.  Never though, did I see a day where I could write and hit Publish and immediately send my written offerings to the world.  This writing journey is definitely not what I envisioned as a young girl, but the truth is, it is so much better!

For me every time I write something it is a bit like fighting the natural urge to run and hide from danger and instead running headlong into it.  There is risk involved, but there is huge reward here too.  I unreservedly say that nothing in my life has been as exhilerating as seeing a dream beginning to come to fruition – no matter how small that fruition might be.  The only appropriate thing to say is, “Thank You heavenly Father for loving me so much, for delighting in me and for bringing me to this season in my life.”

The world has enough Nancy Drew and Carolyn Keene, it needs more of us.  It needs more image bearers of Christ uniquely reflecting Him to the world. 

So how about you?  What dreams are you holding onto in your heart?  Have they materialized the way you expected?  Are you willing for them to look different than what you imagined?  If you are living your dream, how does that make you feel?  If your dream hasn’t materialized yet, is there a place you could start, right now? Are you hiding from danger or are you willing to run headlong into it?

This post inspired by The Nester’s http://www.thenester.com/2013/01/i-played-with-barbies-when-i-was-15.html and Bilbo Baggins in “The Hobbit.” I am profoundly grateful to you both.