This Part of the Story

I’ve recently made a big push to try and build my following. I’ve posted on my personal social media pages, my author social media pages, and even paid for advertising. I posted in local discussion groups and my high school alumni group. I know success isn’t built overnight but right now I’m feeling like there’s no traction. There’s no forward movement, no growth.

I cling to the hope that this is the part of the story that I’ll look back on and tell people about how it’s darkest before the dawn. I’m putting in the work now that will one day make all these days before it seem worth it. I cling to the hope that someone will pick up something I’ve written and say it’s worth reading.

There is purpose in the way things work out or the speed in which good things come to us. I am yearning for my writing dream to come true. And because it feels like it is taking an eternity, well, the future has to be bigger than I can even fathom. We have to be ready when the good comes and the only way we can be ready is by treading through the valley.

Last night I was on my way to town to pick up dinner. I had all green lights through the center of town. As I approached the first green light, I noticed the crosswalk countdown and within a fraction of a second, I saw my life flash before me. A car traveling east flew through their red light and I was probably a sheet of paper away from hitting them. A fraction of a second earlier, I would have been t-boned by someone going so fast they were a blur. A fraction of a second later, I could have hit them in my path. But the precise timing of everything that happened protected us both.

That’s the thing about timing. We may not ever understand why things seem to be taking too long or why they arrive too late. But what is meant for us arrives right on time. Without protection, without precise timing, I could have been killed. I didn’t see what was in my path. Good or bad, when we can’t see what’s in the path we have to trust that the journey has a purpose.

My timing isn’t perfect. But what I saw last night was nothing short of divine intervention. My brakes slammed and the danger passed. Today I need to slow down. I need to temper my expectations so that I don’t become discouraged. I need to let the path before me continue to be made in the timing that will one day blow my mind. Continue the work, continue the hope, and know that all things, seemingly good or bad, work together for a bright future.