A time of thanks

During this time of year, those of us in America who appreciate the grander idea behind traditional holidays are taking the time to reflect on what we are thankful for.

As a writer, I am thankful for many things. Of course, I could not possibly recall every single thing and person which I am thankful for, but I do know there are definitely some things which I must take note of.

First and foremost, I am thankful for my faith and for the Lord coming through for us in so many ways. I have often felt that, for the grace of God, I have been able to accomplish certain things in my writing career. We look at the people we meet, the opportunities we come across, and we think, “Wow, small world.” Or, “It must be Fate.” But I think something bigger is at work here. I am thankful to God for bringing certain people into my life and leading me along certain paths. Thank you for being that whisper in my ear, Lord.

I am also thankful for my friends. My writing buddies, fellow authors, blogging buddies and other writers and editors who have communicated with me over the years. I am thankful to the friends who are still here, despite everything. Thank you for your kindness, patience, wisdom and understanding. I have been sad to see some friends decide that ours was not a friendship to continue anymore, for some reason or another, but I am thankful for the friends who are still here.

I am thankful to all of the writers, editors and agents out there who have taken the time to work with me on articles and books. Your time and assistance mean the world to me and have helped in more ways than you could ever know. Thank you for recognizing that I don’t know everything that I’m “supposed” to know about writing and publishing, and for patiently addressing my concerns and answering my questions. Thank you, also, for overlooking my mistakes and understanding that I am not an “evil person” trying to make things hard or bad for you.

I am thankful for the writers, attorneys and authors out there who devote themselves to fighting for the rights of writers, who work to spread the word about scam artists or fraudulent businesses, and who are sacrificing their time and energy to bring to an end shady scammers out there who take advantage of writers and crush the dreams of aspiring authors.

I am thankful for our Constitutional rights in this country to freely express my ideas and show my creative side. We hear so many stories about censorship in other countries. About how people have been imprisoned, exiled and even murdered because of something they wrote. I am so very, very thankful that we live in a country which allows its citizens to freely express ourselves and our ideas. Though some forms of censorship do still exist in America, I am thankful that this censorship is not so widely oppressive.

I am thankful to my parents, sisters, brothers, uncles, cousins, etc., who have supported my dreams as a writer and never told me to “get a real job.” Thank you for seeing how this writing thing is something I just can’t live without and encouraging my efforts to see my work in print, and even maybe someday on the screen. Thank you for always supporting my dreams from the very beginning!

Last but not least, I am thankful to my children for their support. Thank you for being my number one fans and cheering me on all the way. Thank you for sharing ideas, inspiring others, offering suggestions for stories and acting as a sounding board for ideas. Thank you for sacrificing the ONE computer we have in this house so that Mommy can write but, most of all, thank you for even being here. You are blessings in my life, blessings that I could never, ever have otherwise known if it weren’t for you.