Peaks and Valleys on the Path of a Disciple

My brand new book, Unlikely Redemption, has only two reviews.  The second review was posted yesterday, and brought me to tears. It was timely because it ended up being a mournful day on the pro-life front for me. I will get to that. Anyway, a friend created the lovely picture above when she read the review. In case you can't read it on the picture because you, like my reviewer, are a seasoned citizen, here is the review:

Wonderful for readers of all ages. By Jo Letlebo on December 20, 2016

Verified Purchase

I read the first book and loved it so had to get this one which is just as good. The innovative idea of a young girl out on her own finding a family of animals is enchanting. I am 85 and haven't read a book like this before and am hooked on this author. 

This is possibly my favorite review I have ever received. I cannot tell you how tickled I am that one of my books has brought delight to an 85-year-old, and that she has never in her 85 years read a book like mine. Jesus should return right now and sound the trumpet, and take us all to heaven because this is a moment that will be hard to top. 

Perhaps you don't want to wait 85 years to read a book like mine. Good news! The first book in the series is on sale RIGHT NOW for 99 cents. Just click HERE.  It has been #1 all week, and I am very gratified by that. At one point this week, two of my books were #1 and #2. It gave me the encouragement to keep writing, and and continue editing my work-in-progress.

However today it has slipped to #2. The ads I chose for the promotions at the end of this week are not as powerful as those earlier in the week. The book is slipping in the ranks, and there is little I can do to stop it. I have no more money to put into ads this month.

Believe it or not, all these ups and downs with my book sales reminded me of my work as a sidewalk counselor on the sidewalks of the busiest abortion center in the area. God never puts us on a path of sitting on top of the world, #1 secured for the rest of our lives. We are granted those pinnacle moments briefly, but almost always, the road of a disciple is filled with mountains AND valleys.

Yesterday was an ENORMOUSLY discouraging day. I can't share details, but it was a huge setback in some very wonderful developments with a mom I was working with. I was perilously close to asking, "WHY, GOD?"

Our work at the abortion center sidewalks proclaiming life is the most gratifying thing I do. It is also the most heart-breaking. Yesterday was one of those heart-break days. Sometimes, as a pro-life counselor you put everything you have into your time with the mama, offer every available resource, counter every possible obstacle with tangible help...and still they choose abortion.

Sometimes you walk alongside the mamas for months, even years. As God lifts them from the mire,  you can almost hear the sucking sound as the swamp of despair and defeat loses its last grip on them.

And then they crawl back in.

A friend sent me an article that noted it takes six years to break the cycle of poverty. Six years. I am in it for the long haul. If the mamas I help through Cities4life will let me, I intend to stay near and do what I can, especially keep pointing them to God. It is clear my strength will never sustain them, but His can and will.

But then, I got to read that sweet review by an 85-year-old lady who presumably doesn't have many years left to read books...and she read mine.

So instead of saying, "Why, God?" I said "Thank you Lord." That is a better thing to say anyway.

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Romans 8:28

And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.

Isaiah 26:19 

Your dead shall live; their bodies shall rise. You who dwell in the dust, awake and sing for joy! For your dew is a dew of light, and the earth will give birth to the dead.