Timing Is Funny Sometimes...

So last week, I said I was finished with the rewrite of FIGHTING FOR FREEDOM, and that the plan for the coming week was to deep clean and declutter my entire house, room by room, while the writing rested and I gave my brain a little bit of a break.

It didn't exactly work out that way. Last Sunday night, when I sat down to plan the coming week, I pulled up my phone calendar so that I could add relevant appointments and ministry obligations to my planner. And there was at least one thing for Every. Single. Day. So last week was looking pretty hectic right from the start. At the very least, I was grateful that the busy appointment week happened to coexist with my non-writing week, so I said to myself, "It's fine, I got this. I'll do the appointments, and with each day, I'll dedicate whatever time I can to the declutter in that area."

It didn't work out that way, either. I did end up taking a huge load of donation items out of my house, did end up throwing away lots of things that were broken or otherwise useless in my home, and I did rearrange my bedroom - twice - with the help of a friend who is wildly energetic and always down for a project. She helped me haul my entire bedroom around, watched me hate it, and then helped me haul it all back. But while I was feeling discouraged and upset, she said, "Well, it's really really clean now. You got to dust places you probably have been able to get to in ages." And she was right.

The rest of week followed that same theme; I didn't get nearly enough done for my standards, didn't make nearly as much progress as I wanted to, and I could feel the pressure mounting. So I just had to throw up my hands and say, "The best I've got is all I've got." After that, it got easier to just do what I could and let go of what I couldn't. I do still need to deep clean and declutter several areas of my house - but hey, progress, not perfection, right?

In the meantime, my brain was still meditating on Christine and her story, and bits and pieces of STILL FIGHTING FOR FREEDOM kept floating to the surface of my mind, so I grabbed what I could catch, took notes when needed, and let the next part of Christine's journey to rebuilding her life begin to take form:

• FIGHTING FOR FREEDOM opens with the worst of the abuse Christine suffered at the hands of her husband, Malachi, and follows her through the process of settling into the Safe House, which is a shelter program for survivors that I made up - because no matter how hard I searched, I couldn't find one that met survivor needs in the kind of holistic way that's really needed. The story unfolds as Christine works through episodes of panic, learning to trust again in friendship, growing new confidence in herself and her abilities, and coping with the aftermath of her willingness to cooperate with the justice system in response to her husband's domestic crimes. And of course, all of this is complicated by her feelings as an old boyfriend re-enters the picture of her life in the most surprising way.
• STILL FIGHTING FOR FREEDOM will follow the next part of her journey as she copes with living on her own for the first time, exploring and dealing with her fears and feelings as she struggles to get by on her own while experiencing the trauma of her husband's trial, and the complicated emotions involved as she works to continue fostering her new friendships. There is romance blooming on the horizon of her life as well, and this brings its own set of lessons in terms of boundary-setting, confidence, and the willingness to pick yourself and try again after trauma. This is a hard journey to take, and many women struggle mightily with it every day. I hope this second part of the story lends understanding and sisterhood to those women, and that it will give new awareness and a stronger sense of compassion to women who haven't experienced this side of life.

The writing begins tomorrow.