spiritual life, women

Living in a page turner

JOY journal

“Yesterday is gone. Tomorrow has not yet come. We have only today. Let us begin.” Mother Teresa, misery-fighting fire brand

It is the kind of thing mid-life women daydream about when they are cleaning sinks or making tacos or trying to meet a work deadline, but I know I will probably never buy a house in Tuscany.

Me and our roses, frozen for a moment in my story.

That is Frances Mayes’ story. Not mine.

Likewise, it is unlikely I will buy a farm and raise fancy sheep in order to produce naturally-but-exotically colored yarn. That’s the story of a certain pastor’s wife, straight from the pages of Victoria. Not mine.

But, I do have a story. A story that traces through beaches and kitchens and newsrooms and woodland trails and is uniquely mine. And, I’m trying to actually live in it, rather than drift off into a fantasy of what might have been or what will unlikely never be.

Living inside one’s story is such a struggle in today’s world that I asked my husband to take this picture of me — a frozen slice of summer 2019.

It’s a summer of trying to write with a house full of family. A summer of knowing that tectonic shifts are headed our way. Our daughters are nearly grown. Our house is very big and very “historic.” I work in an industry (journalism) that has morphed into something I couldn’t have even imagined when I started in my 20s. And, to be honest, I’m not sure that I like it anymore.

So, I’m reading my life story very carefully. That includes the really hard parts that I’ve already been through and that I might have edited out if I had been the sole author. And, the wonderful parts that I might have dragged out for several chapters if I had sole control of the pen.

Like King David, I can say at mid-life that the “lines” have generally fallen in pleasant places. And, that gives me hope that the rest of my story will be just as interesting. A page turner, perhaps.

Will I buy a house in Tuscany? Again, probably not. But, my grandchildren may one day be entertained with the story about how I learned enough French in 2019 and beyond to make a trip to Quebec more interesting. Or, how I prayed my way through a career shift.

Or, well, who knows but God? He’s never failed to surprise me — in spite of my best-laid plans — and I imagine this will continue. I’m OK with that.

I will live in my story, MY story, until the last line, which I hope reads something like: “And she went to heaven, where she saw Jesus face to face and lived happily ever after.”

The end?

I don’t think so. 🙂

Published by JOY journal

After a long career writing for local newspapers — and, on rare occasions, for publications such as The Washington Post — Nora's word life is now focused on blogging and occasional writing projects of special interest. Also the author of several books, Nora lives in Appalachia with her husband and a goodish dog named Finn, who is delighted whenever the family's two adult daughters are home from college.

16 thoughts on “Living in a page turner”

  1. Nora, this is the best yet. I always love your writing, but today’s article is the “Pierre de resistance “. Lol. I’m sure I murdered that phrase. But what I mean to say, not so eloquently as in my mind, it’s the cherry on the cake!

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  2. Your life may not look that exciting to you, but adjusting your perspective – tweaking the telling of events (what to tell, what details to include) can shine a light on the pattern of God’s plan (He is so clever with the timing of things!) and will reveal what a masterpiece you are! Besides, seeing what the Lord has done in an “ordinary” life is way more inspiring to us other “ordinary” people than the fantasy, because we can relate. (Sorry, I’ll never be Katnis Eberdeen.)
    In short, we are ordinary people in the hands of an extraordinary God, and that makes a great story!

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    1. It took me a minute, but I actually know who Katnis Eberdeen is. I must be cooler than my daughters suspect. 🙂 You are right. Ordinary is OK with me. I’m just trying to take stock and get my footing with some big changes already occurring and others looming. Life never stands still, does it? (Neither does a good book plot…)

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  3. Funny you should say that… maybe you heard about the $2 centuries-old homes in some small towns in Italy. The catch: buyers have to make them livable. Who knows what that costs. Oh well. Another happy fantasy! But your story ending is the best one, that we all should look forward to.

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  5. Thank you, Nora, for this affirming word!! Even though we may balk a bit at change, often that’s how God does something new in us, strengthening Heavenly Hope plot lines in our ever evolving stories. One day @ home in Heaven with Jesus….📚 🌟🙏🌟📚

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