by Staci Stallings
The longer I live and the more I write, the more I realize that life is a process not a destination.
When I was younger, I absolutely thought of life as a destination. If I could just get through this test or that project… If I could get to Junior High or High School… If I could just graduate…
Sound familiar?
I think a lot of us expect life to be about the destination. When it’s not, I think we become frustrated and feel like there’s something wrong with us or that life is just not fair.
The full weight of my shift in belief in this area hit me the other day when I was final reading my newest release, “Little Drops of Sunshine.” If ever there was a process book, it’s this one!
It’s interesting because in the book the two main characters, Lauren and Wes, actually probably like each other in the previous book (that’s about two different characters). They are best friends with Paige and Nelson, and so they end up hanging around each other quite a bit. He’s one of those hopelessly obnoxious guys who can’t be serious to save his life. She is fun-loving, but she’s been compared her whole life to a perfect older brother, so she feels less-than in most every situation.
Neither of them “know” how to do a relationship, and they’re both terrified of being real with the other about what they’re feeling. However, when the chips are down, they are there for each other—not as romantic partners but as real friends.
So you get a whole book about the process of growing up and what love looks like when it’s not microwaved. This thing is more like a delicate soufflé that can’t be rushed. As the book goes, these two are together and then not, together and then not. And, at least for me, it’s easy to begin to see just how natural life is when they are together and how ridiculous it can get when they are not.
I think that’s the real process of falling in love. It’s not about how impressive you can be. It’s about who can you be really, truly real with? Who is there for you when life kicks you in the teeth? Who doesn’t take off when you do something really dumb? Who walks beside you, wants the best for you, and does what they can to make that happen?
The more I write this series, the more I think the whole thing is about the process, and it’s not a short one with these people either. A couple of them make some really dumb (albeit realistic) choices that spiral destination thinking into oblivion. So if you’re into learning about the process and growing with characters through it, this might be a journey you end up really enjoying.
I will, however, warn you that the process is not always so simple as: they meet, fall madly in love, they kiss, the end.
That’s fair warning!
About the Author:
A stay-at-home mom with a husband, three kids and a writing addiction on the side, Staci Stallings has numerous titles for readers to choose from. Not content to stay in one genre and write it to death, Staci’s stories run the gamut from young adult to adult, from motivational and inspirational to full-out Christian and back again. Every title is a new adventure! That’s what keeps Staci writing and you reading. Although she lives in Amarillo, Texas and her main career right now is her family, Staci touches the lives of people across the globe with her various Internet and writing endeavors.