Never say Never

Here’s some great advice for you today: Never say never, always avoid always. I’m writing this, sitting in my lounge, dreaming of my lovely study, but watching our puppy sleep, listening to her snoring and giving little barks in her sleep. Goldie is a Labrador puppy who never (!) barks, except for in her sleep. Clearly, her dreams are a lot more exciting than her real life is.

I like dogs, but with four kids, I said no for years, definitely in the Never line. Seeing my children with a therapy dog convinced me, and soon after, we collected our furry creature. She’s very sweet, sleeps well, plays well and being a Labrador, eats well.

It reminded me of saying never and how we can limit ourselves or our expectations of blessings that might come our way. Like, I could never write a novel. How do you know? What if God gave you a storyline and plenty of free moments to tell your story on paper? You might be surprised. I didn’t think I could write in English, and plenty of relatives are still doubtful that my books are in fact in real English. If someone had said four years ago that I would have five published books in my name, I would have laughed. How ridiculous. I could never write a book, let alone publish one. Never say never though, for I did; I even accidentally published one...

Or maybe you say as I did, I could never write anything non-fiction. Making up stories is one thing, writing stuff that actually needs to make sense and is supposed to follow certain rules is totally different. But I thoroughly enjoyed contributing to Wendy H. Jones’ anthology, Creativity Matters. I write regular book reviews for Book Tour companies and I do my best to make them sound English.

Goldie is really sweet, and it's as if we've always had her...

Even in college, I found it hard to write proper essays. Fortunately, the college in Gouda I went to didn’t ask too many of those. I struggle to get my thoughts to line up properly and stand still whilst I write them down. The result is that by the time I get to the concluding paragraph, I can think of at least another three essential points to add to the essay. This brings the essay four times over its limit, so I would need to rewrite the whole thing. I’m so glad I only had to do that a few times.

Blogging is another area where people use Never or Always a lot. I didn’t think I could do regular blogs, as I’m not so regular in doing things. I try to always be on time, but I have never managed to keep my personal blog regular. Blogging is great though, as it’s a wonderful way to share quick thoughts with people. I always try to stay on topic, one topic preferably, and never go off track with other points that came to mind.

So like buying a puppy, don’t say never or always. Try something new; at least it might not keep you as awake as a puppy can do (Goldie is good as gold, no complaints there!), and you might find a real blessing in stepping outside your always-box. I’ll never be a poet, but one reader has already told me how much she enjoyed the poems in Burrowed! Never say never, but always lean on God to step into new territory.

Maressa Mortimer is Dutch but lives in the beautiful Cotswolds, England with her husband and four (adopted) children. Maressa is a homeschool mum as well as a pastor’s wife, so her writing has to be done in the evening when peace and quiet descend on the house once more. She loves writing Christian fiction, as it’s a great way to explore faith in daily life. Because of her interest in writing, Maressa is part of Creativity Matters: Find Your Passion For Writing, an anthology encouraging people to write.

Her debut novel, Sapphire Beach, was published in December 2019, and her first self published novel, Walled City, came out in December 2020, followed by Viking Ferry, a novella. Beyond the Hills is the second book in the Elabi Chronicles, and was released in 2021, followed by stand-alone novel Burrowed, released in 2022. All of Maressa’s books are available from her website, www.vicarioushome.com, Amazon or local bookshops.