The dog ’s name was Ichabod. He was a good boy as shih tzus go, a little full of himself, but a courtly fellow, and a great companion to our high school aged daughter. One day Icabod fell asleep in a sunny spot on an oak stairstep. During this sleep he flipped over and sent himself rolling down the stairs.
He survived his tumble without injury, but afterwards, he was afraid of the stairs, particularly coming down the stairs. Down was bad. Down hurt.
After a few weeks of indulging his paranoia (carrying him down the stairs), we realized we had to teach him to overcome his new fear. Here’s what finally worked. One of us would stand near the stairway and say, “Come on, Icabod, you can do it. Just take one step. Just one step. “ Then Icabod would take one step. We would congratulate him for his bravery and say, “Now, one more step. Just one more step.” And finally one step by one step he would reach his goal.
If you are a writer or artist, you know that down is part of the business - down being rejections and/or realizing that what you have created is not as good as you thought it to be. If you are not a writer, rejection is still part of the package. Families squabble, co-workers shun, bosses yell, systems break down and so do we.
I want this Blog to be a happy place, but sometimes to get to the joy we have to negotiate a stairway. So I thought perhaps a little encouragement via Icabod’s story might help us all.
My inspiration for this particular post (besides Icabod) was a gentle rejection of my current novel by a very encouraging agent. I am not her client, yet she took the time to tell me what was wrong and how I might go about making the needed changes. Her encouragement was so strong that the stairway down hardly seemed down at all. And the stairway back up doesn’t look that scary either. Usually. Most days.
Are any of you experiencing a difficult “down” time in your life? Please imagine all of us standing beside the stairs encouraging you to reach out to God, grab His hand and face the next step, all of us saying to you, “Come on. Just one step. Don’t look further than that. Just one step.”
Your kind words about my novels have been so important to me. Thank you for helping me find the courage to negotiate that next step. And the next. And the next…
Blessings, Sue