Restructuring

Good morning, God, and thank you for this new day in my life.  It's cold here now, and it looks like winter is on its way!  I thank you for the changing seasons, for the way that the world goes through cycles that help us to remember that life isn't always one way and that things don't always go consistently--that we don't have to worry if some sort of change is occurring in our lives, because change is the nature of life.

Right now, I feel changes coming on.  I feel that my teaching days are coming to an end, and though it isn't something that I've planned on or pursued, it's not something that dismays me.  I want to switch to working on my writing, but the financial risk is going to be pretty difficult to handle if I do so.  Also, it's kind of hard for me to pursue writing if I waste so much of my time in unproductive ways, which happens every now and then.  I would really love to make a living as a writer, and I would appreciate any guidance that you have to offer me in pursuing such a dream.

A reply:

You almost didn't write "dream."  Why not?

My reply:

Because in my experience, my dreams don't come true.

Another reply:

And hasn't this been the reason for which you haven't pursued writing in the past?  Because you think that to make money as a writer would be something of a dream come true, and you doubt that that can happen to you?  If that's the case, then join the club--many, many people limit themselves and their own opportunities in just the same way.

Do you have talent as a writer?  Absolutely.  Can you win a Pulitzer Prize?  Who knows?  One never knows where one's writing may lead to when one devotes oneself to it completely.  Your fear right now is that if you devote yourself completely to your writing, you and your wife will not be able to "make it" financially.  Your needs and desires are simple, of course, and neither of you are extravagant spenders, but you feel the need for some sort of assurance that you won't go under and lose everything if you try to make your living as a writer.

That's assurance that I cannot give you.  I am here to support you and to guide you, but what if your most important piece of writing in the future results from the difficulties that you encounter when you devote yourself to the craft?  What if your relationship with your wife, rather than being weakened by struggles, is strengthened by struggles?  What if your major contribution to the world comes out of your struggles rather than from your comfort?

Think about it.  How many of the most important works in the world have come from people who were living in comfort?  Many of them have, of course, but most of them have not.  Look at a list of truly important works and see just how many of their authors went though significant trials.

Now your counterpoint would be very valid:  you've already gone through more struggles than most people ever do.  That's true, to a certain extent.  Perhaps if you dedicate yourself to the writing, your past struggles will provide you with the material you need to succeed.  Perhaps the struggles you've already gone through will be enough for your work to be truly meaningful.

But remember this:  Much of the success in life comes as a result of risk.  If I guarantee you that you will face no trials if you shift gears and move in a different direction in life, what risk is there?

You will always have my love and my support, and I will not let you fall.  But I cannot promise a life without problems or trials.  What would life be life if I did?  I do have every confidence in you, for I know the talents that I gave you.  Please use them for all that they're worth, and make your decisions based on your heart and your faith.  I'll be with you, no matter where your road leads you.

Do dreams come true?  Of course they do.  Do dreams come true without someone taking a risk to help them come true?  That's another question.