Once

once upon a story, there was a girl.

there was a girl who liked simplicity more than anything,
who liked beautiful words and big ideas,
but found that writing with simple words
from her simple heart
made more sense to her than anything.

once upon a story, there was a girl who'd dreamed so much of being a writer,
that she used to practice every day.
her journal was filled with beginnings and endings of stories.
but she never seemed to know what the middle should be.

once upon a story, there was a girl who realized
the middle is really the most important part,
the realest part.
but the middle should be discovered slowly:
ever so slowly;
with beautiful, tiny pieces at a time.

once upon a story, the middle was her life.
a lovely, sometimes awful thing that told the real story of the girl.
a beautiful picture of a simple life changed through grace
from a Father who loved her more than anything.

once upon a story, the Father changed everything for the girl.

once upon a story, a girl loved life.

once upon a lifetime, that girl was me.