Paying Attention to Where God Is Resting

Once upon a time I put my whole heart into a book called, Finding Deep and Wide and I became increasingly excited as the January 2020 launch approached. Recognize that date? I couldn’t have anticipated my book baby being swallowed up in the noise of a world-wide epidemic, but so it was. Its message never seemed to have a chance of finding the people I believed it could help. Sales were mediocre, at best. The truth? It broke my heart. That disappointing launch was almost five years ago, at least the way we keep time. But the Good Book says with God, a thousand years are like a day.

I’ve since written and released two more works, and I’m preparing to launch another book in early February, and yet, God’s Spirit is resting on Finding Deep and Wide. I don’t know how that will sound to you, but it’s hard to come to any other conclusion.

It began several months ago with an insistent idea about starting a book club in my hometown that wouldn’t get go until I made it happen. I was also strangely certain Finding Deep and Wide should be our first read.  I figured it was probably because the book opens with a kayaking scene on Lake Providence, the body of water that sits in the middle of our town. It seemed a logical choice for Ripples a Bookclub.

Side-note? I thought I was doing something for my town when I offered this book club, but the blessing is being multiplied back to me. Our weekly meetings are yielding such a delightful sense of community because ours is is a win/win God.

Around the same time our book club began discussing Finding Deep and Wide, I started hearing from people across our country and beyond our borders, from Australia to Canada, all with stories of how they were finding the book, enjoying it, and taking their small groups through it. As far as I can tell, sales don’t appear to be spiking in a measurable way, but their emails and social media messages have been moving me to tears. That’s a sweet enough mystery to me, but there’s more.

A recent speaking invitation took me to Lubbock, TX. After the last session of our conference, the host took me to an incredibly special place in their community, Ransom Canyon Memorial Chapel. And what a beautiful experience it was. We arrived as dusk was falling. A winding brick path waited to lead us up to a hillside chapel. Along the way, plaques were witnessing to the miracles of Christ and flowing fountains offered background music. To the right of our path were replicas of the nativity scene, the three crosses of Golgotha, and the resurrection tomb. It all contributed to a setting that felt like Jerusalem!

Melanie and I could hear children singing as we made our way up the hill towards the chapel. We were hoping they would still be there when we arrived at the top, and to our delight, they were. They were part of a local Philipino congregation meeting on the chapel’s porch. Their little kids were leading in song, with their parents and grandparents gathered about them.

And what song do you think they began singing as we stepped onto the porch? If you guessed the children’s song, Finding Deep and Wide— go immediately to the head of the line! I doubt I need to tell you how it wrecked me to see those beautiful children singing and signing those lyrics. The amount of things that had to line up for that moment to happen continue to stagger me.

One extra long-full-of-travel-delays trip home later, I was telling my husband all about that chapel and the wild timing, when I got a notification on my phone. A reader in Georgia had just posted an image of a painting she created featuring the cover of Finding Deep and Wide, and she was talking about the retreat she and her friends enjoying with the material. We scheduled an impromptu zoom call, and I was able to enjoy a short visit with them.

I suppose some people could hear all of this and conclude it was a number of interesting coincidences. I can’t.

God is resting on this book, for His purposes. I’m praying for eyes to see and ears to hear what I’m supposed to with this information. All I know for sure is that I’m called to “speak on a rooftop what I’m hearing in secret.” So, I’m completely ignoring the thought that this might sound self-serving to you, and I’m outright asking you to consider reading Finding Deep and Wide. The subtitle says, “Stop Settling for the Life You Have, and Live the One Jesus Died to Give You.” I want that for you, but God wants it more.

Hugs, Shellie