doing it all wrong

Ever feel like your attempt to do something good has become a series of mistakes? That’s me right now with my book…

I’ve written something that I hope anyone can read, rather than focusing on a single target audience as writers are advised to do.
I’m self-publishing on my own, rather than going with a publisher who can put their weight behind getting it out to the world.
I’ve written in a genre – memoir – which I am told is not in vogue right now.
And I’m publishing it in December, said to be too late for most of the Christmas gift-shopping season.

All things considered, it looks pretty foolish. And when professional writers, publishers, and those in the know remind you of the ‘right’ or ‘best’ way to do things it can be a bit disheartening, even if they are only trying to help.

But as I recently pondered the folly of my endeavours, I was reminded of the verse in 1 Corinthians 1:27, that says “God has deliberately chosen to use ideas the world considers foolish and of little worth in order to shame those people considered by the world as wise and great” (the Living Bible). It encouraged me that God likes to use silly things and ordinary people – that sometimes being successful in the world’s eyes is not the same as doing what pleases Him.
Yes I could take the world’s route and try to write a book that would be accepted in mainstream circles, all polished, perfected and professional – or I can embrace the ‘foolish’ route, and simply publish what God has put in my heart, written to the best of my ability, and then trust Him with the rest. I choose the latter.

After all, doing it ‘the wrong way’ can be like the surprise view that I saw out of my kitchen window this morning. On this very grey and damp mid-November day, I saw a beautiful yellow rose in my garden, bravely and cheerfully blooming completely out of season (I know there are some varieties that can bloom this late, but I am sure this one is meant to be a summer rose). And it made me think, maybe God’s plan for my book-done-the-wrong-way is for it to be like a rose blooming in the ‘wrong’ season – bringing unexpected cheer to people on miserable days. I’ll take that!