Writing to the Finish Line

Running is hard. So is publishing a book.

When running a race, sometimes the runner finds herself (or himself) approaching the finish line slower than planned. Three months ago I ran the hardest and longest run of my life so far when I ran a half-marathon. Running 13.1 miles was the toughest physical challenge I'd ever faced, and as the race day approached I had two goals in mind: running faster than all the other ladies from my church who were in the race (sounds terrible... but I’m being honest here!) and finishing the course in under 2 hours and 10 minutes. 

Somewhere around the 11th mile, I was ahead of all the other church ladies, and was feeling like finishing before them could happen. Since I was watching my time, I felt like I probably wasn't going to finish quite as fast as I had hoped. I was tired, walking more than I had hoped, and struggling to run hard for the last two miles.

Getting to the finish line can be tough. 

Likewise I've had a goal for the past few months – I dreamed of releasing my book as a Kindle book on my 35th birthday, which happened just after Christmas. I dreamed of the monumental experience of saying to the world on that birthday milestone "I may not be a mother yet, but I wrote a book!"

Then, just before Christmas, I looked at how far I was from the publishing finish line, and I realized that I was not quite going to complete the book by the targeted date. That reminded me of a painful run not too long ago.

On Thanksgiving Day, my brother and I ran a 5K race - a mere 3.1 miles should be an easy accomplishment prior to the Thanksgiving feast, right? I woke up that morning before my alarm beeped, and I felt good. I dressed in my warm clothes and my pink sparkly skirt, knowing that the weather forecast included cold rain. When the race began I realized some of the challenges I was facing: it was not only cold and rainy, but I could barely feel my toes despite my wool socks. The race course was crowded, muddy, and wet. We ran those miles in a steady cold drizzle, and not only was I trying to run fast, but I was trying to keep my phone and my iPod dry, and I was trying to navigate past joggers dressed in turkey costumes. 

The final hill up to the finish line was tough. As I ran the final stretch, I was aware that my 5K race time was even slower than the 5K race that I had run the month before. However, I had never run in cold rain before. I didn't enjoy fighting my way through the crowd. I was running my hardest, but slower than I liked. The fact is, some races to the finish line just don't turn out how you want.

All that to say, before I can call my book "done" and share it with the world, Mike and I, along with our support team, are still finishing some final steps. My birthday “goal time” came and went. Due to hindrances out of our control, it's been harder to get to this finish line than I anticipated. 

My book is coming soon - I can't wait to share it with you and I can't wait to be done with the final steps! I want to finish this race so that I can slow down a little bit. On our book launch day, the book will be available as a FREE Kindle book so stay tuned!

Babies often aren’t conceived or birthed when you want them to. Finishing a race within a goal time is harder than it seems. Writing and publishing a book is a challenging process. My type-A personality is constantly trying to reach goals! However, I remember and look to the One who is the Giver of life and the Creator of all things – He’s actually directing my footsteps and in all these things I dare to say: His timing is right.