By A.C. Williams by @acw_author

In July last year, I was attending the annual Realm Makers Writing Conference. It was the conference’s tenth year, so everyone went all out. We were at a large facility in New Jersey too. What we didn’t expect was to find that most of the restaurants in the conference center were closed, and everything else that was open cost an arm and a leg. And also since everything was mostly closed, the lines to get food were ridiculously long.

Those were the most expensive convenience-store quality cobb salads I’ve ever eaten, y’all.

At one point, as I was standing in line to buy yet another too-expensive, poor quality salad, I was commiserating with a fellow Realmie, Aaron Schlegel. I had met Aaron ten years earlier at the very first Realm Makers conference, and we had been friends since.

I can’t tell you we were close, but we kept up with each other. I was always happy to see him, and we always traded stories about how life was going. I rejoiced when Aaron married his beautiful wife Mary (who he met at Realm Makers that very first year). I celebrated when their first baby was born. And I was so excited when I found out that they were expecting baby number two.

So it was a joy to catch up with him as we waited in line to buy food that cost too much. Looking back now, I’m so glad I got the chance to stand there in that too-long line chatting with my friend, because on December 9 last year, he was killed in a car accident.

Aaron was 32.

I have never been so thankful for a long, slow-moving line at a fast food joint in an Atlantic City casino. At the time, it was exhausting and frustrating, but Aaron and I made the most of it. We talked about his daughter, who he adored. We talked about his book projects. We talked about his dreams. And he cared so much about what I was doing, which is always so touching. And—that was the last conversation I would have with him on this side of eternity.

We are still early in 2023. We have the entire year ahead of us. But something that’s been on my heart since Aaron died is to challenge each of us to make the most of the time we have.

Maybe you’re not in a convenient spot. Maybe you’re waiting in a long line just so you can spend too much money on food that doesn’t taste great. But you can still engage with the people around you. You can be intentional in interacting with the people you know. It matters because you never know if you’ll see that person again.

Maybe you’ve been dragging your feet about that story God’s put on your heart. Maybe you’re scared. That’s okay too. It’s normal to be scared. Nobody said storytelling was easy. On the contrary, storytellers have to be among the bravest people in the world. But being brave isn’t the absence of fear; it’s doing what’s right in spite of your fear.

Whatever you’re called to do this year, whoever you’re called to speak to this year, do it. Make this be the year you get it done. And if you can’t finish it, at least start it. Don’t spend any more time debating or negotiating or compromising.

Time isn’t a constant thing. Just because you had today doesn’t mean you’ll have tomorrow. And that’s not to scare you. Don’t be scared. Fear isn’t the point. Faith is.

Let’s make 2023 a year of intentionality. When you see something that needs to be done, go do it. When you see someone who needs a friend, go be it. When you hear something that needs to be said, go say it. You might not get another chance.

If you would like to know more about my friend Aaron Schlegel and his beautiful family, check out the GoFundMe page his cousin set up.

Award-winning author A.C. Williams is a coffee-drinking, sushi-eating, story-telling nerd who loves cats, country living, and all things Japanese. She’d rather be barefoot, and if she isn’t, her socks won’t match. She has authored eight novels, three novellas, three devotional books, and more flash fiction than you can shake a stick at. A senior partner at Uncommon Universes Press, she is passionate about stories and the authors who write them. Learn more about her book coaching and follow her adventures online at www.amycwilliams.com.