This one’s for my Writing Friends, or anyone who wants to learn more about the writing life. This post begins a series on Writing, where I hope to encourage other bloggers and newbie (or wannabe) writers. So glad you’re here!

I have always been a writer.

As a young girl, I copied words of story books, just for fun. I wrote stories and poems throughout stacks of notebooks, some of which still reside in a pink plastic box in the attic.

I wrote copy for yearbooks and a number of newsletters, and I wrote for a weekly teen section of the local newspaper. I wrote for college organizations and church groups, and later took my first real job as a writer at IBM.

Then a different dream came true, and I became a Mom.

As a 30-something, third-time Mommy, I heard the whisper to write again. I didn’t know what it meant exactly. My hands were full. I was afraid and feeling inadequate. I wanted to know what it meant–Exactly. But I only had some ideas.

So I rocked my tiny pink bundle and chased two toddler boys, and in between all the work of early motherhood and the playdates and parties and near-daily Target runs, I dreamed little writing dreams.

I bought some books from the Writing & Publishing rack at Barnes & Noble, and hated everything I learned. You must promote yourself. You must sell your work. You must build a platform, the wise professionals told me.

Then I wanted my writing dream to die.

It wouldn’t.

I have always been a writer, because I write. It’s a gift God has given me, and it brings me so much joy.

But becoming a (published) author hasn’t turned out anything like I first imagined. Do you relate?

What did your dream look like, when it first came to you?

The writer’s life is both beauty and chaos, and the journey often turns out to be different than we’d hoped.

Maybe you haven’t arrived where you think you should be by now. You’re disappointed, and like me, you fall into discontentment sometimes.

One season, I was ready to give up completely. Alone, on my screened porch, I heard another whisper.

“Don’t quit.”

“Come with me.”

“On this journey, I have many things for you to do—write and nurture and host and love and lead and teach and more.”

I said Yes.

Here’s my dream, Lord. It looks like published books to me, but I trust it to You instead. You decide what it becomes.

I grieved for what might never be. It may never turn out the way I hope. Of course, I could kick down doors, and probably make some things happen.

But I’m doing the work I know is mine to do in this season. I’m listening and learning to trust.

Writing is my dream, but it’s not my only dream.

I also dream of loving and leading well where the Lord opens doors for me. I dream of seizing the days of this season, while my kids live at home. I dream of living with no regrets.

What are your other dreams for this life? What are your other callings?

Today, I blog here and on a couple other blogs, and I write for various organizations. I’m working on writing a book, whether it gets published or not. And I love it all.

With my business-owner husband and our four busy kids and homeschooling, my life is full and chaotic and beautiful. It’s a journey I wouldn’t trade for anything.

Even in the chaos, there’s always so much beauty. We find it whenever we choose to see.

Has your dream taken a new shape?

Has it expanded or headed a different direction?

I pray you will see the beauty of your right-now place. If you desire more of this type of encouragement, would you Subscribe at the pink box, top right?

Click here to find out more about the #Ladder2Rooftop Academy, where I contribute to Beauty in the Chaos of the Writer’s Life.