Thank you, Queen Elizabeth II

 

  Our thoughts are with the Royal family today as they bury their mother, grandmother and queen of the nation. It is strange how death makes us think of our own lives. I'm sure many of us have over these past few weeks. Duty, service and devotion are just a few words which come to mind when thinking about Queen Elizabeth II. What an example! I could never hope to match what she achieved in her life, but she has given me an ideal to aim for. I'm glad I am able to say a public thank-you. But there have been other things on my mind too.

  I’ve been thinking about custard! Yes, that’s right custard. When I was a child and perhaps, I’m giving my age away now, when the custard was served it was always lumpy. It didn’t matter whether it was at home or school dinners, the lumps were there. There were no ‘instant’ mixes or pre-made cartons available. I think it was something to do with the consistency of the mixture before the boiling milk was added. We learned to swallow the lumps yet still enjoyed the custard. We didn’t expect it to be smooth. Our writing lives are like that sometimes.

It is in the ‘lumpy’ times that we may be tempted to give up. Throw in the towel. But before you do that think it through a little. Test your emotions. Why are you feeling like this? For me I was enjoying the garden and its opportunities and didn’t want to go indoors. I thought I’d run out of ideas for my writing group and my YouTube channel. Then I took my own advice from last month and awarded myself an extended summer break. Since then, I’ve received encouraging messages, invitations for new projects and not so subtle hints about when the next writing group meeting is.  I’ve rebooted the writing schedule.

Now I’ve planned both my next writing group meeting and the YouTube channel. This wasn’t a sudden epiphany but working through a process. I looked at why I wanted to give up, realised this could be a seasonal blip coupled with some grief issues and asked myself, did I really want to give up things which had given me so much pleasure in the past? Maybe others too. I was thinking about the custard. We learnt to enjoy the custard by swallowing those lumps. I could do just that with my writing.

It helps to focus on the bigger picture and not just the lumps. That’s why taking a break helps. Breaks provide a distance from which we can re-evaluate. Yes, re-assess everything - life, writing, family, church!

  Looking forward to fruitful writing as the colder weather draws in, I remain an enthusiastic member of ACW, open to what lies in front of us. God bless the King.

 

   Rosalie Weller is an ordained minister in the Uniting Presbyterian church of Southern Africa. She is now retired and writing in the East Midlands. Her writing interests are broad, including writing bible study guides, historical fiction and poetry. All her books are available from Amazon. For more information see her website www.rosalieweller.com