Don’t you love when God places you in situations that you totally don’t want to be in so He can fulfill His plan? The particular situation I am referring to is one I tried running from for a few months, but much like the story of Jonah and the Whale, God eventually won! It involves me dancing in front of about 700 people.
Now, some of you reading this post may not know just how funny that really is so let me give you a visual. On Sunday mornings, I am the one tapping the pew in front of me because I can’t clap and sing at the same time! I have no rhythm or coordination whatsoever. However, unlike my daughter, God isn’t the least bit bothered by that.
Over the last year, while working on writing Threads of Grace, I have prayed diligently for God to open the doors I needed to walk through and close the ones I shouldn’t touch. In my humanness I have tried opening a few on my own, which He quickly (and sometimes abruptly) closed. I have known from the start that this is His book and I am merely the one putting it on paper.
From the beginning, I have tried to imagine how He was going to go about getting the news out that an unknown mother and wife in Chesterfield, Virginia, (who has probably never read more than 30 books) has written a story about His amazing love, grace, healing, and forgiveness.
Nonetheless, up until now I have said that’s not my problem. God asked me to write the book, so I did and I will leave the marketing up to Him. Right about now I am wondering if that was such a good idea. Lol…just kidding.
The problem began about six months ago when my sister gave my name to Susan Groves, the person in charge of the Pink Tie Gala. This is a fundraising event that raises money for breast cancer. Each year they choose 10 survivors to participate in something called the Celebration of Life Dance. The survivors take 12 weeks of dance lessons and choose a dance they will perform with their instructor that night.
When Susan started emailing me I politely deleted each and every email without a thought. She even sent a friend request through Facebook, which I also chose to ignore. When all attempts to reach me were unsuccessful, she called my sister and explained she hadn’t been able to catch up with me. That’s when my phone rang.
My curiosity always gets the best of me when a number I don’t recognize comes across my screen, so I answered. Susan introduced herself and told me she had been trying to reach me. Stopping her in her tracks, I quickly told her that I had no idea why my sister gave her my name and number. I explained that I would be happy to speak at their event, but I wasn’t about to dance!
Needless to say, by the time Susan was done I had agreed to be a dancer! It took me a while to see what God was doing through all of this, but I finally got it! This opportunity is an awesome way to get the word out about my book, as well as get to know some fellow survivors! While, it definitely isn’t my way, it is obviously God’s way…which is always better! I am loving God’s sense of humor these days.