Followup Wednesday

You know what I'm not going to do?

I'm not going to start a foundation tomorrow in my name and for the purpose of saving all of Africa or even the poverty-stricken in my own country.

I've thought about it. And I've thought about smaller, really big things like a service that pairs readers with the elderly so high school and college students can learn to give while those with dimming eyesight can relive the classics.

But I'm not going to do it. Or at least, I haven't yet. I don't know where to begin. And I don't know where to end. And the middle really throws me off with all the organizing and campaigning and convincing people I'm something that will stick.

I don't think million-dollar foundations get started very often. I think foundations start with a few hundred dollars and a box of gently used shoes. And, frankly, I don't even have the guts for that kind of starting-something right now.

So I'm going to do other things. I'm going to revise one word at a time on my novel and hope someday it turns out I actually am a writer. And then I'm going to re-pray with all my heart that I'm putting words out there that heal instead of hurt.

I'm going to keep working the day job and the freelance job and the book writing job because they're moving us toward our goals about debt and our house and our children. And we'll be ever so much more useful when those goals are met.

Three college girls came to the door yesterday with a reusable bag and asked if I had any donations for the Christian food depot. And I almost kissed their faces. Here's some beef broth and sliced peaches and a box of vanilla pudding for you, and a big fat sense of having contributed to life, for me.

The main character in my novel is sorting all this out. The big picture versus the little steps. And she's going to discover one of my favorite quotes of all time - by Martha Kilpatrick from the poetic book ALL AND ONLY:

Do the task at hand. Live the life you find.

And that's what I am going to do.