The Moments that Count

Ever have those moments where life seems to conspire against you? A host of demands intersect and leave your head spinning as you try to keep all the balls in the air?

I'm there. Boy, am I ever.

I've got three book deadlines in August. Yikes! I know I am incredibly blessed to even have a contract, let alone four...but next time I'll try to spread the deadlines out a bit. Sandhill Dreams is due August 15th -- it's done...but I'll probably look through it one more time. Then the Deadly Exposure revision is due August 27th. I've stared at the computer screen for two days and haven't made it past page six. I'm having serious creative blocks...and a touch of fatigue with the book. I've reworked it so many times, I'm dreading this..even though I know it will be better. Then there are the galleys for Canteen Dreams. I'll have 7-14 days to look at proofs one last time to catch typos before it goes to press. Yeah! And yikes!

Oh, and then there's our vacation in the middle of all that. I'd love to leave my laptop at home, but I doubt that will happen.

But life does not consist merely of writing. Oh, no. I have kids, a husband, a puppy, a house, a car, ACFW board work, etc. Stuff. And sometimes in the clutter of life, I feel like God gets lost.

Not that He's gone anywhere. But in the busyness and distractions of life and deadlines, the quiet time with Him evaporates. It's one of those paradoxes. I know that I need Him. Desperately. Like the air I breathe. That without Him, I am and can accomplish nothing. Without Him my words merely take up air or hard drive space. My actions are worthless and improperly motivated. My relationships become a chore rather than a pleasure.

And I hate that.

I want to hold loosely to things, and tightly to God. To step back and inhale the scent of His Presence. To be filled to overflowing with Him. It's only then that everything else will fall into place.

So this morning, while a friend watches the kids so I can write, I think I'll start with time in my Bible. And maybe then this frantic feeling will begin to lift.