The Art of Life
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| Photography by Rick Stieve |
“You are the laboratory and every day an experiment. Go and find what is new and unexpected.”
Joel
Elkes
I have tried to
honor the singular explorer within by choosing something new to experience
every decade of my life. I’m uncertain
when I decided on this experiment, but I know that in my twenties I pursued
marriage and teaching, in my thirties rearing children and becoming a woman of
faith, in my forties being an active part of Young Life and Bible study
ministries, beginning ballet ,and seriously focusing on writing, in my fifties traveling abroad,
going on missions, and being on the Midwest Writers Committee planning all year for the summer workhsops, and in
my sixties writing a book and learning to oil paint. These internal goals gave me impetus in
summoning my energies toward one or two goals as well as learning to balance
the art of living each day with joy and understanding of how much relationships
affected the quality of my life.
I am at the end of
this goal decade and have finished my book on integrating schools the first
year of my marriage and teaching career.
The years were 1967 and 1968. It
has taken three concentrated years to find five of my students and some of the
staff to interview and check that my memories were accurate and research the
climate of the sixties. Three winters of
focused writing and editing created my first book. This week after five to twenty edits on each
chapter, I am finished! I have birthed
an overdue baby. It was long and tedious,
but I am ready to seek an agent and publisher.
I have been brave enough to land at the end of what little I know. I feel like a fledging freshman turning in
her first research paper. Because of
this stretch, I breathe new air, understand that the Holy Spirit went with me
every step of the way, and wonder what is possible for my future. Another experiment of practicing something
new brings me wonder and life. For this
I am grateful.
God bless you for sticking with this, Sandi.
ReplyDeleteIt is a wonderful feeling having completed this goal. It was much more difficult than the work for earning my college degrees and so much more rewarding. I wish I had gotten serious at writing much earlier in my life. I'm glad we encouraged each other to begin our blogs when we did. I loved seeing you at Elizabeth Berg's presentation Friday night. Miss you.
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