*Written with Veridion Smart
There are seasons when writing flows so naturally that the words seem to know where they’re going before you do. Then there are seasons like this one, when life quietly closes your laptop, asks you to look up, and reminds you that some stories must be lived before they can ever be written.
The past several weeks has been filled with interruptions just like those.
Texas weather has reminded us that we’re never quite as much in control as we’d like to believe. Torrential rain, power outages, flooded roads, and the kind of storms that make you grateful simply to wake up to another morning have become part of our daily routine.
At home, Kevin has been dealing with health concerns that required more attention than either of us expected. Brock decided to remind us that dogs can be just as determined to keep us on our toes as children. For a brief moment, I even thought we might welcome another dog into our family, only to realize that sometimes wisdom means saying, “Not yet.”
My daughter spent a few precious days with us, reminding me once again that family isn’t an interruption to life; family is life.
Through all of this, JOURNEY OF THE HEART, my current Work-In-Progress, has waited patiently on my desk.
Years ago, that would’ve frustrated me. I would’ve felt guilty every day I wasn’t writing. I might even have convinced myself I was falling behind.
But age has a funny way of changing your perspective.
I’ve learned that stories aren’t measured by how quickly they’re written. They’re measured by the life that’s poured into them. Every conversation, every challenge, every unexpected detour eventually finds its way onto the page. Compassion deepens. Patience grows. Characters become more authentic because life has quietly taught the writer something new.
Looking back, I realize that all of my work has been shaped by seasons that didn’t go according to plan. The difficult moments didn’t stop the stories – they gave them their heart.
Perhaps that’s true for all of us.
We often believe our lives are moving forward only when everything is organized, productive, and under control. Yet some of our greatest growth happens in the interruptions – the hospital waiting rooms, the family dinners that last longer than expected, the unforeseen storms, the quiet mornings when all we can do is take a deep breath and begin again.
Those moments rarely feel important while we’re living them. Later, we discover they’ve become the chapters we remember most.
So, if you’ve been feeling as though life keeps interrupting your plans, maybe take heart.
Perhaps life isn’t interrupting your story at all. Perhaps it’s writing the next chapter. And when I finally sit back down to continue JOURNEY OF THE HEART, I have a feeling those pages will carry something they couldn’t have carried a month ago.
Not because I’ve become a better writer.
But because life has gently reminded me what the journey is really about.
*Rosetta Diane Hoessli has written two novels, WHISPERS THROUGH TIME (2021) and TIP THE PIANO MAN (2024), and is working on a third, JOURNEY OF THE HEART. She’d love to hear from you, and you can contact her at thompd2011@gmail.com, on this website (https://www.rosettadhoesslibooks.com), or at https://www.facebook.com/RosettaDianeAuthor or https://www.facebook.com/Ronni.Hoessli. Have a blessed day!