Gentle towards One Another

Asherel went to her riding lesson which we arranged on the spur of the moment since skiing got cancelled due to lack of winter. (It was 70 here in sunny Charlotte!) There was a new horse at the barn. I walked up to him and held my hand out for him to nuzzle, making clicking noises with my tongue. This usually draws horses to me like flies. This horse sniffed me briefly then walked slowly to the back wall of his stall. He turned his back on me, swatting his tail about.
"What is this all about?" I thought, feeling a little hurt. Horses usually like me.

My new book, God Drives a Tow Truck had an astonishing run yesterday during the free promo. 5030 books "sold" in the two day promo. If those had been paid for, I would be on a plane to Tahiti. Instead, I sat down to read the reviews. I got 6 five star reviews. They warmed the cockles of my heart, wherever that is. But why was my rating only 4 1/2 stars? Then I saw IT. WHAT!? My first negative review. 1 star. 1 star?

After pulling my head out of the toilet, I read the 1 star review. He claimed I wasn't an atheist at the beginning of the book like I had said I was in my promo blurb. He said he had grabbed it wanting to read about an atheist conversion, and this was hardly that. He didn't believe the stories in my book, and on top of it all, I had made an error in my time frame of events of when I started roller skating based on an editorial error (or lie....) He actually was correct on the editorial error. I had meant to say "ice skating" , not "roller skating" in the sentence he cited. He did not blast my writing, at least. Only the content was not what he thought it was.

I felt utterly deflated. Even worse than when the horse turned its back on me.
Welcome to book publishing. When you put yourself out there for all to see, someone is bound to hate you. Lesson to me: be gentle in your critique of others. You never know how discouragement might crush their spirit.

There was another review from another stranger. I noticed it after wallowing in the one star review. It said her dad had just passed away, and she had been comforted by my book. It reminded her that God is always there, even when we don't notice or know. She gave me five stars, and asked that I write more books.

When Asherel's lesson ended, I returned to the stall of the new horse.
I held out my hand and softly pet his muzzle. He stood for a moment and then walked back to the far end of his stall, watching me out of the corner of his eye.
"It's ok," I whispered, "Maybe once you get to know me, we can be friends."

Titus 3:1, 2
Remind the people to be subject to rulers and authorities, to be obedient, to be ready to do whatever is good, to slander no one, to be peaceable and considerate, and always to be gentle toward everyone.


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