Write About Now

Several years ago the Lord asked me to “take the journey before the people.” I knew exactly what He meant when He asked me to take that leap of faith and this blog was birthed as my “yes” to His request. I knew that it would be risky but worthy business. I also knew that public writing was only going to be part of the adventure God was calling me to. If you have been reading my blog, you also know that I have not been obedient to that call over the last couple of years. I have no excuses. I have a few guesses as to why but none worth writing about for now.

Right now, my obedience is simply going to look like “writing about now.” I hope that as I open back up and share some of the narrative God and I are writing in my everyday life, that you will open up and share your stories with me as well. Please add them to the comments below or feel free to email me (katiewilson40@gmail.com) with however God connects with your heart on this blog. I want this blog to be a conversation, a safe place for real, imperfect people to connect in their ordinary, their failures, their heartbreak and pain, their victories and praise reports, their daily unedited moments and the cries of our heart for belonging in the good, bad and ugly.

I am not a perfectionist and through the years I have had to make many “edits before the people” after pushing publish too soon with a trigger finger, scared I would start picking it apart and never push publish at all. “Premature publishing” has been one of many ways God has been and continues to grow me up in surprising ways. It is not everyone’s journey and some may read this and think I am crazy, careless or just not cut out to be a writer due to my seemingly reckless way but some of you will slow down and step over the welcome mat and find a seat at this messy, “me too” table.

I am going to go back to my writing roots and throw all the blog rules out the window for this “write about now” season. I am not looking for cool graphics or color schemes to catch the eye. I am not aiming for “search engine optimization”(whatever that means anyway:) I don’t plan to insert links or tags or categories. I am simple going to WRITE ABOUT MY NOW hoping to connect with YOURS!

I have a visual in my mind of those paper chains we used to make as children. We wrapped them around our Christmas trees or used them to count down school days until summer vacation. I see this blog prayerfully starting a paper chain that will connect us all as we add the simple stories of our lives to it, helping one another sift out the gold, hold on in the heartache, grow in the waiting, and find belonging in the paper chain we build together into eternity.

Last night we ate dinner with friends. It was a restaurant we’ve made many a memory in and it appeared to be just an ordinary Monday night. But upon further review, I saw so much precious gold that it inspired me to start writing again as God reminded me of His presence in all places, if we will just look.

The friends we ate with knew half the people in the restaurant. People light up when they see this couple coming. We have witnessed this scene many times over the years but God highlighted it in a special way last night. People light up when this couple enters a room because they make others feel seen and valued and they always make them smile or laugh before heading on their way. Of course this couple hasn’t a clue. Their humility is part of that magnetic secret sauce. Do you have people like this in your life? If so, let them know how much you cherish their friendship and see God radiating through their lives. We all reflect the heart of the Father in unique ways. May we each walk in that individual facet of God’s image we were made to reflect as His ambassadors all the days of our lives.

I took in the ordinary dinner in a new extraordinary way. We wrestle for bread across the table, over-talk one another in the retelling of our lives over the past week or so, their grown kids may call and share a FaceTime of the banana bread they made while sport teams are discussed and extra condiments are ordered. I notice my feet don’t touch the ground in the booth and immediately laugh telling my half pint friend there is no way she can touch the ground in the booth, as we continue to chase the red ball and transition into a story about Publisher’s Clearing House and the lyrics to a country song that makes me cry. Sounds like a table of ADD adults when in reality it is the unforced, fantastically fun dance of just doing life with others!

We end the night rejecting dessert, thanking the waitress, and quickly conversing about orange theory (an exercise place in town if you don’t know what it is:) before heading to the curb outside to linger a little longer. All four of us lean in to listen to the country song lyrics that tie the night up with a bow of gratitude for the simple things in life. As we each get in our cars and drive back to our empty nests, I am flooded with emotion that remained bottled until WRITE ABOUT NOW! I recognized the treasure of friendship in a fresh way. I savored the ease of conversation and the unhurried cadence of gathering for no other reason than the gift of presence. Sometimes extracting gold looks more like cherishing what could easily be overlooked or taken for granted.

What or who is right in front of you? Where do your everyday rhythms take you?

Upon further review, what uncommon gems do you now see in some of your most common moments?

May we continue to grow together at being present in the present! Please share and join me in WRITING ABOUT NOW!