Dreams like reaching for the moon
Sometimes we’re blessed with the opportunity to step back and see the pattern and progress of our lives, and we’re better for having that experience. Last weekend I was a leader at a spiritual retreat, and I reconnected with an old friend, Sheri.
Ten years ago I was a shy single mom who worked in Corporate Hell as a Quality Systems Analyst. This meant that I interviewed people on their compliance to our quality standards, and presented their shortcomings to their managers. Coworkers greeted me with about the same pleasure as folks once responded to this.
I had a growing conviction that God had called me to be a writer, and that he created me for that purpose. But at the time, the dream of being paid to write what I wanted, when I wanted, was about as far away as the moon. I couldn’t see any way that I could achieve this.
Sheri was introduced to me through mutual friends, and I was thrilled to learn she wrote for the Chicago Tribune. A real-live writer! At the same time, I’d found out about a Christian Writer’s Conference in Wheaton, IL. Sheri helped me pull together the money to go and encouraged me when I returned, talking a mile a minute, and excited that an editor accepted one of my stories on the spot.
As time went on, Sheri and I somehow lost contact. I continued to work on writing and submitting, but there still didn’t seem to be any way to quit my job and take up freelancing. So I crawled up the ladder in Corporate Hell, looking for jobs that would allow me to use writing talents. I moved from quality systems to software administration to project/process consulting. Sometimes I got angry with God - why would he put this desire on my heart and not give me a way to fulfill it? Sometimes I’d pray, “God, if you don’t want me to be a writer, please make me stop wanting it.” But that didn’t happen. Once I was married, my husband accepted his dream job in ministry, and let me tell you, ministry does not pay. We needed my income and corporate benefits.
Almost two years ago I was laid off, along with one third of my entire department. I was given a severance package generous enough to allow me to start my own business, and Pearl Writing Services was formed. God had come through in breathtaking fashion, but of course, I still questioned him. Why couldn’t I have been laid off five years ago? Why did I have to wait so long for this when he spoke the dream to me so long ago?
When I think back over those challenging and sometimes self-esteem-destroying years, I see a pattern and a glimpse of God’s plan. My quality auditing job taught me to be a good interviewer, facilitator, and technical writer - skills that carried on into the software administration and business analyst roles. I also learned fantastic project management skills (someday, ask my husband about the project plan for our wedding!). From my project/process consultant role, painful though it was, I learned to be excruciatingly exact in defining requirements, planning communications, determining the right vehicle for a communication, and editing my work and that of others. If any of those roles had been missing, I would not be prepared to freelance.
So Friday night, when I saw Sheri at the lodge called Inspiration Center, I introduced to her to to everyone I knew. “Sheri’s the writer who inspired me years ago.” I told them.
Then with pride, I turned to Sheri and said, “I’m a writer now, too!”
Published by angelawd on October 17th, 2007 tagged Joyful living
October 18th, 2007 at 11:44 am
What a beautiful story. It’s so amazing when we can see the plan in our lives. Especially when things seem so random.
I’m glad you are a writer! You’ve given me a few smiles - and this one brought a tear.
October 18th, 2007 at 7:45 pm
What a great story. My experience is almost yours in reverse–I’ve been fortunate enough to make my living as a writer for many years and to have a great “day job” that allows me to write, edit, and give opportunities to young writers every day…all in good conscience. But it’s only recently that I’ve begun to see the ways in which my writing and my faith can and should be intersecting.
October 19th, 2007 at 2:43 pm
You’re very fortunate, Tiffany! It’s hard for me to see where my faith and writing intersect - except here on this blog. During the day, while I’m writing about some product, or medical technique, am I really serving God? I am hoping my business plan will continue to steer me in the direction of writing as a (paid) ministry. If you’re interested, you might want to check out a post at my other blog about creating a business plan that focuses your work: http://pearlwriting.blogspot.com/2007/10/starting-your-own-writing-business-part_05.html.
By the way, my daughter was thrilled to hear you give opportunities to young writers. We should talk more about that. She wants to be a writer, too!
October 19th, 2007 at 7:40 pm
I loved this post. I followed a similar trajectory - working in IT hell, project manager on a software development project, occasional technical writing gigs, and finally branching out on my own as a technical writer. Each job, each step, even though I couldn’t see it at the time, put me on a path to the place where I am now - able to make a living as a self employed tech writer, working from home, working the hours I want (o.k., way too many hours, but still.)
Someone asked me in a comment how someone goes about getting that job, and I still haven’t answered her, because - it seems so unique, how you actually prepare - all of the little steps that take you to the one place where you have a broad enough range of skills to be marketable. I learned Dreamweaver in one job, Robohelp in another, Captivate in still another. It’s funny that it seems daunting to explain it, and yet it just occured naturally. An evolution of skills. Sometimes I feel like God led me here, and other times I feel like God has way more important things to deal with, and it was a lucky accident.
Sorry, that was a way too long comment, I just really identified.
Melissa from SB is your cousin? I have blogstalked her for years. Writing talent obviously runs in the family…
October 22nd, 2007 at 11:04 am
Very cool story! I can appreciate waiting a long time for a dream. I still feel like I’m waiting for mine at times. Yet, I should be thanking God that I have a job that helps people and allows me to live out my faith at work.
October 31st, 2007 at 4:50 pm
[...] Williams Duea presents Dreams like reaching for the moon posted at angelawd, saying, “It’s sometimes hard to see God’s plan in the long [...]
November 1st, 2007 at 2:05 pm
This really hit a chord with me, too. I feel such confusion - why does any human being feel that this sort of behavior is OK? Almost every religion holds the Golden Rule at its core - treat others as you want to be treated. Be kind. Love each other. How does this behavior show any of this? This has really stirred something in me - thank you for such a thoughtful post today! I need to go think about this before I write any more. If I don’t, anything I write will come out nasty and angry and that is not what I want! I will try to formulate a thoughtful, intelligent, loving response - and then I’ll return.
Breathe, one, two , three….