Dreams of Olympic Proportions

Posted on February 17, 2010 12:00 AM MST by Sara Richardson

Tomorrow night (Thursday) I will be sitting at a banquet waiting to learn whether or not one of my manuscripts will be published. I am one of four finalists in the Christian Writers Guild Operation First Novel contest. The winner receives a nice contract with Tyndale Publishing House and a $20,000 advance. But, most importantly to me, the winner will have their book published. To be truthful, I have been agonizing over this night for many weeks. I want to win. Is that horrible to admit? I want my book to get published. I’ve been writing fiction for over three years now. I’ve made sacrifices. The people I love have made sacrifices. All in order for me to pursue my dream: writing stories that teach people about grace. Writing stories that communicate reasons for hope.

As I’ve been anticipating this big night, I’ve thought a lot about the Olympic athletes we’re watching compete in Vancouver right now. (No, I’m not about to compare myself to an Olympic athlete. I am definitely not that tough!) They intrigue me. These people spend most of their early lives honing their athletic talent, training in their sport, living, eating and breathing their sport in order to pursue their dream. They amaze me. Their entire lives are devoted to one dream: winning gold. Most of them won’t—we know there are not enough gold medals to go around—but that is why they’re there. Pursuing excellence despite the risks and setbacks, despite the fear of failure. Can you imagine the disappointment they face when it doesn’t happen? When something goes wrong? I always feel sick for the favored figure skater who falls on the ice during what was sure to be a gold medal routine. For the skier or snowboarder who crashes. But most of them will come back and do it again. Most of them will forget that pain and keep competing. It’s in them, it’s part of who they are. I can understand that. Dreams don’t die when something goes wrong, they simply grow and change just like we do.

I know disappointment. I haven’t even counted how many rejections I’ve got from publishers and agents. It’s all part of the process. I simply file the rejections in a folder and move onto the next thing, but that doesn’t mean it’s not disappointing.  I’ll be truthful again. If I don’t win the contest tomorrow night, I will be disappointed.  Like I said, I want to win. But I also know that I’ll be genuinely thrilled to watch one of the other finalists win. It’s such a gift to be able to witness someone else achieve their dream, to take part in something like that. Besides, the most important thing I learned during the last three years is to open my hands and surrender my dreams to the one who wrote them into my heart. Our dreams are safe in God’s hands. If I don’t win, this simply isn’t the right time. I’ll keep working, keep sacrificing. I’ll keep on pursuing my dream. And I’ll let God use that pursuit to change me, to help me grow.

Stay tuned and check back on Friday … I’ll let you know how it went!

What are you dreaming about right now? How do you cope with disappointment? 

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