Here at the End of all Things
“For the Quest is achieved, and now all is over. I am glad you are here with me. Here at the end of all things, Sam.”
Frodo Baggins said this to his loyal Samwise Gamgee after the Ring of Power had been destroyed in the fires of Mount Doom. Considering that the immediate world around them was going up in flames, it was an apt thing for Frodo to say to Sam. And at the moment, it’s a pretty apt thing for me to say to you, loyal reader. At least while the whiny part of my heart considers its own immediate circumstances.
After three-and-a-half toilsome years spent focused on Let Me Fall, I am re-entering the work force. In a completely non-related field. As in, I’ll be a legal assistant, not a writer. This means book sales have not been an amazing success. It’s hard not to feel like a failure. On some small level it seems as if I’m clinging to the edge of Mount Doom, watching my visions of the future heave, crack, and spew around me. I completed my quest and nothing remains. (At least my whiny heart is glad you are here with me. Here at the end of all things.)
Yet I know this sniveling part of my heart is wrong. My accepting a full-time job is not the termination of Let Me Fall. It doesn’t signal the end of my ability to write or speak. (I’m still headed to Liverpool to speak at Revolution Conference in Oct. and will continue to blog on a regular basis.) It just means that the path for Let Me Fall is not the same path as The Shack. And God’s plan for my life is different than His plan for William P. Young’s life. I mean, God’s creative enough to come up with something different, right?
If nothing else, me getting this job proves how much God really cares. The book is complete and we needed more income. God dropped the job in my lap. I get to work for a family friend. I care about his business succeeding. My new work will challenge and stretch me. I’ll have a window in my office. What more could a girl ask for? Well … I guess there is one thing. It’d sure be nice if my new boss would bring back Casual Friday so I could bust out my writer’s attire.
I’ll close by thanking you, loyal reader. Thank you for accompanying me on my quest. Thank you for the times you carried me when I could not take another step. Thank you for being with me—here at the end of all things—even though it’s not really the end. I hope you’ll be my companion through my next quest. 🙂
August 29, 2013 16 Comments