What is Peaceful & Purposeful LIFE and how is it related to Convalescence?
Firstly, I should begin with what is Convalescence. Though the title can be, and has been, confused with a self-help resource, the book itself is a novel, a fictional story of a young girl’s heartbreak and process of recovery. I began writing the Convalescence story in my twenties, led to do so by something I didn’t quite understand at the time. Writing this story of a young woman, her heartache, and her search unknowingly for meaning in her life, came so naturally to me. I cannot explain how it was to begin writing this story other than it was like reading or regurgitating a previously written story that was revealed to me.
As a school-age child, I remember loving the experience of creating little stories. I would gather a handful of computer paper from my dad’s printer, fold the stack in half, staple the fold to create a seam, and then write and doodle away. Writing again brought back this creative passion that I had not felt in years. But there was something different, something I couldn’t place a finger on. Flash forward years later… many years later, and I believe I have a better perspective.
Looking back on my life, from the school-age authoring years to now, I have seen a slow spiritual maturation process revealed. One that began with Sunday school teachers and teen youth group leaders to Bible studies attended and Bible studies led. I have been blessed with years and years of God showing me who He is and who I am as a result of His love. And because of this, He has prompted me to share what I have learned and continue to learn every day.
Initially, this began through writing the story of Addy. At the time, I had been having several discussions and prayer sessions with a friend who was struggling, like Addy, with who she was after heartbreak. When you’re young and you have ideas of what your life should look like, a wrench in that plan can be devastating. I think we all encounter this at some point in our lives. And I think that if we are blessed to see it, we are shown that these wrenches/hiccups are answered prayers, our loving Father guiding us to a better path. His Path. The only path where we have peace, purpose, and connection.
We were created to be connected to God. And when we are not connected to Him, our lives are chaotic, stressful, depressing, longing for something or someone to fill that aching void. In today’s age we have a vast supply of outlets to attempt to fill this void. And we are inundated with propaganda that tells us who we are or should be, what we need, what we deserve, and what will make us happy. But all these messages fill us with an overinflated idea of self. It’s this overinflated idea of self that places us in complete control over everything in our lives, or at least we think. The problem with this theory is that we can never fully be in control, and any attempt to do so is frivolous.
But the illusion that we are in control means that we obsess over what we think our lives should be, doing everything in our power to succeed in this flawed endeavor. We plan and stress about all the details of our lives: what we look like, how we appear to others, who we have relationships with, what careers and ambitions we pursue, what material items we possess. We believe these are the things that define us, give us purpose and meaning. And if that is the case, then it is logical that we would dedicate all our time, resources, and effort to obtaining them.
Control, or rather the illusion of control, is exhausting. It is exhausting constantly worrying, planning, and reacting to things truly out of our control. If our daily lives are consumed with what we want and controlling how to get it, then we will never be at peace- we can never let the ball drop. Unrest suffocates those who cannot get out of this cycle.
Then what happens when life comes to a halt? When our plans get blown to bits? When the desired job, school, or opportunity is an impossibility? When people we care about betray, hurt, or leave us? When the person we believe we are meant to be in a relationship with rejects us? Plans, even well-intentioned ones, are subject to unpredictable factors. Other people being the most significant of these unpredictable factors. People are unpredictable. And as much as we want or try, we ultimately have no control over how other people think, feel, or act.
In Convalescence, Addy learns this lesson when she discovers her relationship with Chase isn’t what she thought it was. Chase isn’t who she thought he was. Her plan wasn’t what she thought it was. Addy must find where she places her trust when her trust in herself and all her efforts fail her.
We all need to decide where to place our trust. Every day. If our trust is in ourselves and the drive to make life exactly what we think it should be, we will be disappointed and frustrated when we discover that we have not that power or control.
But if we place our trust in the One who deserves it, who has proven Himself trustworthy, faithful, and powerful through the ages, who loves us and desires relationship with us, who does control everything in heaven and on earth, we are set free. Free from the stress of always having everything ‘together.’ Free to rest in His arms. Free to live life to the fullest. Free to experience the peace that only comes from Him no matter the circumstances.
My desire through this series is to share what I have learned about the Father. How He has shown me time and again that His Plan is the only one worth pursuing. And what that looks like on the daily. What does it mean to trust Him and rest in His arms?
When we place our trust in Him, we can live each day with peace and purpose!
Peaceful & Purposeful LIFE (Live Intentionally For Eternity)
‘So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.’ -2 Corinthians 4:19
‘Now this is eternal life: that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.’ -John 17:3