It has been quite awhile since I have given yall an update...I do apologize for that. A lot has happened in my personal life, and I've become quite busy, watching my time for writing lessen more than I would like.

With all of that said, let's get on with the updates.

This Path I Travel is currently sitting untouched having had all that I can do to it done, and just waiting for the next step if there is to be one.

My second book is still in progress, I've made it about halfway, and I like where I am headed!

Now, I have done something...I am still unsure if it was smart or not yet, but I am writing another book...yes, I have not finished my second, but I had this amazing idea that I couldn't let go. So, I am working on two books at once. Yep, you read that right, and surprisingly it's going pretty well so far.

Next bit of news is that I have entered a contest with the writer's group that I went to a conference with last September. I shall hear who the finalist are in May!

I started my first job, working for Chick-fil-A and really love my job and the people I work with. It's been a fantastic experience.

As for having an agent or getting published, I am still waiting...

Waiting. It is a funny word. Just a word, but it means so much. No one likes to wait, especially me. I love for things to happen, I love excitement, and I don't like not knowing what is next. But alas, God has brought me to this point in my life. I am waiting for many things, and it gets hard, and you lose heart, you forget why you started.

Have you ever thought about the growing process of a blooming flower? When spring finally begins to blow a warm breeze, and the sun shines more brightly, thawing the eath, the plant of the flower starts to sprout, poking out of the dirt, and all you see at first is green. It's not beautiful yet, well not beautiful in the ways that the world would describe, but its beauty comes from having made it up out of the earth, having been born into the world, ready to stand trial to the weathers that this world will throw at it.
This flower will have to endure harsh winds, thunderstorms, an unexpectant freeze, possibly days without getting watered by the heavens. Yet, it will still be standing there, growing where it is planted, waiting for the moment it will finally be able to bloom in all of its beauty, spreading it's petals for the world to see, becoming what God intended it to be. The flower did not bloom whenever it was ready, God made that flower bloom in His time.

I see myself as this flower, waiting for that moment I can finally bloom, where the wait will be over, but I am not there yet. I have struggled with impatience, but God has been teaching me a lot.

Instead of being focused on what I am waiting for, I have realized God has me here for a reason, He has me at this moment for a purpose. There are so many things I can do now, instead of getting caught up on what I want to happen.

I need to do what I can for where God has me. I am still at home, so that means I can help mama with the kids, investing into my sibling's life, spending time with my family all together, because all too soon we are going to grow up and start a family of our own.

I can spend time in the word, deepening my relationship with Jesus, learning the lessons He wants to teach me where I am.

I can send notes to friends, send a message to my grandparents to let them know I am thinking about them.

I can take this time and grow in my writing. Learning lots right now, using what God has given me and bettering it for the time He calls me, for that moment I am preparing for.

I can enjoy this season I am in now, still living at home, still a single girl, I can be still and rest in this moment, for it will pass too soon, and down the road, I will wish for it back.

Never take for granted the seasons of life God puts you in, they are for a reason and are serving a purpose. Don't lose heart, or lose sight of your goals, but rest in Him during every season. I am still waiting for spring in my personal life, but I can go ahead and stop to smell the flowers that have started to bloom on the earth and enjoy life to the fullest.

Thanks for reading and I hope this has blessed you in some way.

~Madison Suzanne