A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Post Office
Packaging up the prizes for the winners of my “Summer of Fun & Faith” contest was so much fun! As I boxed up the insulated picnic bag filled with fun summer items (plus a copy of 21 Days of Grace, of course) for the grand prize winners, I imagined the recipients’ faces when they opened it and the enjoyment they’d get out of using the items (and reading the book!). As I put copies of my book, along with the chosen books from contributing authors of 21 Days of Grace, into padded envelopes, I hoped the second-level winners would also be excited about their prizes.
After sealing up the first box and a few of the envelopes, it dawned on me that I’d forgotten to sign the books before packaging them! And I had promised the winners they’d get autographed copies of 21 Days of Grace. I cut numerous strips of packaging tape off the box, signed the book, put it back in, and re-taped. The sticky on the envelopes came loose fairly easily, probably because it hadn’t been stuck for very long. So after signing those books, I pressed the seal back together. They won’t even notice, I thought with a smile.
Several days later, I got an e-mail from Linda Bonney Olin, one of the second-level winners (also a dear friend of mine, and a contributing author to 21 Days of Christmas—purely a coincidence, since Rafflecopter choose the winners completely at random). She said:
The envelope you sent with my prize books arrived today. Unfortunately, the books were not in it! The adhesive on the flap had totally lost its stickum. The Post Office delivered the empty envelope inside a plastic wrapper with a big “WE CARE” logo and a message apologizing for the “damage.” ARRGGH! Even though I was severely bummed, I got a good laugh out of their ridiculous message on an empty bag.
Fortunately, I happened to have another copy of the contributing author book she’d requested. So I was able to send her a duplicate shipment. And this time, I put so much packaging tape on that padded envelope, she might have to use dynamite to get it open. J
Linda and I couldn’t help but wonder where that first set of books ended up. I told her I’m praying that God will use them to speak to the heart of whoever got them. She replied:
How else could He maneuver them into those hands? You know the song “Our God Is an Awesome God”? I’m tempted to sing “Our God is a tricky dude”!
We never know who might end up reading the things we write. I get chills and giggles when I think about what God might be doing to get 21 Days of Grace into the hands of the people He wants to bless with it!
If God has managed to get a copy of 21 Days of Grace into your hands, I would love for you to share about it: maybe how you got it, what you think of the concept of a devotional for fiction lovers, or how one of the stories touched your heart. You could post a reply to this blog. Or put a review on Amazon. Or go to www.FictionDevo.com and put something on the Forum page. Or go to the FictionDevo Facebook page and share something there. I am super excited to see how God is going to use this book!