Day Six: Rewind To Passion
In order for the next few days to have the same "bang for their buck" as they did when they originally unfolded, I need to rewind a little to enhance the setup. A couple of months or so before Palm Springs #2 trip, our friends from Passion Conferences had come to town to do Passion L.A. We were there of course, and we brought some friends with us to experience the amazing things God does in the context of this ministry. Some of my best friends were the coordinators for the event, too, so it was good girlfriend time for me.
However, it was also just before I had kicked the insane nausea of the first trimester of pregnancy... you know, the super power-like sensitivity to smell that caused my husband's very DNA to be repulsive! One particularly dreadful bout of it came on during one of the sessions at the conference. A friend who lives in our apartment building had fortuitously driven her car to the conference that afternoon and was willing to drive me home so that Jonathan could stay for the duration and catch up with some friends.
He ended up sitting in the green room to chat with his friends and get out of the way of bombarding students leaving the building. There he struck up a conversation with a stranger who was left after all the speakers and musicians had cleared the room to get ready for the next session. The guy was very friendly and warm. His name was Don, and he worked with a publishing company. He was attending the conference with his client, who happened to be one of the main speakers (and a friend of ours). Jonathan, who doesn't EVER give commercials for us or our projects, decided "Hey, what's the worst that could happen?"
He proceeded to tell Don about the book, with as little anxiousness as possible so that he didn't become "that guy", although he was positive he became "that guy" the instant he said, "So my wife is working on this book..."
Don graciously obliged and must've seen some sliver of earnest passion in J, because he gave him a card with his contact information on it so that we might get in touch in the future.
We tucked the card away and decided to try the contact as soon as I felt the book was ready to hand off for review.
That obviously didn't happen before Palm Springs, so Pam Johnston was the first person outside of my circle to read the book.
But Don did read it, eventually...
God, thank You for the gift of story and the way it compels unlike anything else. Thank you for Rick's story and the trust You've placed in me to tell it. I pray I always feel the weight of that responsibility and with humility and a grateful heart I shout from the mountain tops just like in Isaiah 40, "See Your God- behold, He comes with Power!" Amen.
Tomorrow, we're going to the Orange Conference. Not literally. That doesn't happen until April. But we're going there in the story, so come back and pick up where we left off today.
- C