…God has the rest.

My first Book Signing- 03/03/2012

I’ve spent my life Vaulting. Leaping from high places even though I am terrified of heights. The reason for that is all Momma’s fault. She raised me to to know that with a little hard work, a lot of determination and even more blessings from God, anything is possible. Anything translates into miracles. Some call it foolish of me to believe in miracles at my age…37 if you must know…but I am of the opinion that miracles happen everyday and I have been at the receiving end way too many times to dismiss them as happenstance. It’s easy to give credit to chance over God for some reason and I’ve always found that just plain silly.

God tells us to have faith and He will provide for our heart’s desire. Many think this means He will give us everything we want and they are sadly mistaken. They forget that God not only hears what we want, but He also feels why we want it. If our wants do not glorify Him, chances are He may let us have them so we can learn from our foolishness. But if in our hearts there are pure desires, He will make a way to expand our horizons so all will know He is the reason for our blessings.

Now, I am not saying that my heart’s desire has always aligned with glorifying God. I would be a liar if I did. But I do know that my desire to write a book, have it published and share it with the world was not my idea. It was a surprise to me. I didn’t have the tools, knowledge or ability to do it. God listened to my concern and surrounded me with all the things, people and knowledge I needed to succeed. All I had to do was accept the gift.

I have often wondered when it became so clear that this would be my witness to the world…the thing I could give for God’s glory. I don’t know when the exact time or day was, but I would bet everything I have, God does.

This past weekend I had my very first book signing. That is the picture up there. I’ve been asked if it was a success. Well, that really depends on how you measure success.

“How many books did you sell?” Five, and two of those were to my Ganny. One to a woman who saw the article in the paper and recognized my name. She is a friend of our families. Then there were two copies sold to a stranger. This is where the success comes in for me.

He was out for a drive, 100 miles from home, and stopped on a whim. I greeted him at the door and introduced myself. He asked about I Am Ocilla and I gave the very best elevator pitch I could give. He smiled and asked for two. I told him that would be $25 ( I was running a special). He pulled out his money and fingered a $20 and a $5. He began to fold his cash back up, paused and then threw another $5 down. I gasped…really I did. Then he said, “It is worth so much more.” I thanked him and asked who he wanted the books made out to. He had me sign one to a lady name Suzanne (I hope you love her, Suzanne) and the other he asked me to sign. He said he would bless someone with my girl.

When he left I had to run to the bathroom. I had a good cry. Not because I only sold 5 books…it’s never about money for me…but because everything inside of me knew God had sent this last man to me as a reminder. It was a reminder that little steps count just as much as the huge Vaults.

This has all got me thinking about Ocilla and why she is important. It’s not about me. It is about the fact that she is, like the lovely stranger said, “worth so much more”. She is my witness to the world that God is in the little steps and the big Vaults, and that each is equally as important as the other. Ocilla is my miracle written with the fibers of my soul and shared with the world. Her story is the same as mine and yours.

Peace, love and God’s will.