ONE year. That’s how long I’ve been sharing my Monday meditations–one wispy word post at a time. One year of dreams and hopes and heartbreaks as I pursue this writing journey, listening for divine direction while plodding a long earthly road.

And, oh, the encouragement that has kept me going! A friend’s bouquet of flowers with a note, “I believe in you!” A check in the mail “to help with the book.” My husband’s constant faith that all these years of work will eventually amount to something others will crack open (or import) and sit with minds wide open to read. Other’s who’ve offered their editing skills and feedback. THANK YOU ALL!!!

And then the news last fall, that we are expecting another baby, womb child no. 5, due this summer. And the news this past week that my husband is looking for another job. Again. House renovations, not the designer, new-kitchen kind, but the spend-$450-to-rip-out-the-old-linoleum-and-restore-what’s-underneath kind. The fix-the-roof-because-water-is-trickling-in-the-walls-and-crumbling-the-plaster kind. Some days, the work and lack of reward crushes the will to keep going right out of me.

Like yesterday. When I clicked on a file on my husband’s computer and found the dozens and dozens of book revisions I’d e-mailed him for safe keeping and asked him to save. Five year’s worth. Seriously? Have I been working on these same projects for so long?

One book for children. One for adults. Back and forth I go revising, re-reading, re-editing each. What agent would still be interested???

Mine! Who last week said, send them along.

And so, I’m down to the wire, hard-pressed to finish both projects before my writing time morphs into nursing time. Hard-pressed to make each book just a little bit better before sending my literary offspring out to find their ways in the world. Hard pressed to believe that after all these years, the journey hasn’t been for nothing.

My commitment, when I started this blog, was to post every Monday for a year. This post completes it! And so, as I continue working, I’m not sure what form the next phase of “Apples of Gold” will take, how often I’ll write, and the nature of what I’ll write about. But to those who have joined me on this journey, to those who have subscribed and left comments and encouraged me, please don’t disappear.

I’ll be hard at work these next few months and posting when I can. If you see the light on in my writing shed early some morning or late at night, please pray for me! Or if you spot me in town and I look a little dazed, you’ll know why. But stay tuned for good things to come!

“So let’s not get tired of doing what is good. At just the right time we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don’t give up,” Galatians 6:9.