Hey you guys! Guess what arrived in the mail Friday? 
It's been a long week with a lot of ups and downs. From making a mistake at work to getting a vote of confidence from my supervisor. Catching up with friends but learning about the loss of a beloved childhood pet. (To be clear it wasn't my childhood pet but my best friend's. She got this cat when we were little and at that time we practically lived at each other's homes so it was almost as much my cat as hers. Losing him was a hard blow even though I recognize he lived a very good, long life.) Having encouraging times with the Lord through worship on Sunday and devotions through out the week, yet still struggling with the same besetting sins that have haunted me for years. And then Friday night came along.
I went to visit my parents and grandparents after work. I stopped at my house first, knowing that my book was supposed to arrive and I was disappointed when it wasn't waiting on my front porch. Figuring it would show up later this weekend I headed out the door to go see my family. When I got there I had a package waiting. And guess what was inside! (No prizes for guessing right- you've had too many hints!)
It's a surreal feeling, seeing my name in print, knowing that the words inside are the ones that I wrote. It's also incredibly humbling. The thought of people wanting to read, even paying money to read something that I wrote is such a strange feeling. Seeing my name on the cover is both a dream come true and one of the scariest things I've ever seen.
Tonight, opening that package with my parents and my grandparents was a really amazing experience. It's thrilling for me to see my name in print. It's even more amazing to see their excitement and joy as they looked at the book. Loved ones have an amazing ability. They can multiply your joy in ways you never imagined possible.
On my own getting this book in the mail would've been exciting. Then I would've set it aside and moved on with my evening. Opening it with my parents and grandparents meant them telling me once again how proud of me they are. It meant signing their copies that had arrived and talking about who else they were going to order copies for. It meant sharing the joy.
The other thing it meant was remembering that I am who I am because of them. This book wasn't just written by me. It was written because the Lord put a story in my mind and gave me the ability to write it. It was finished because my dad spent hours going through the process of helping me plot it out. It was published because my mom spent hours making connections, doing the leg work and researching the steps to make it possible. And it will sell because my grandparents, and a lot of other loved ones, will tell everyone they know about this story until the word spreads.
This isn't just a book I wrote. It was a group effort and I'm so grateful that I got to celebrate this amazing moment with some of the people who made it possible.
However, you guys also made it possible. So thank you to all of you! I wouldn't be here without you.
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