Trust That You’ll Be Guided

I see life as a series of assignments in helping us to advance in our inner journey. My trip to Panama has been no different. It has primarily been full of opportunities to grow in my faith that there is a greater plan at work. This has been most evident in my journey to share A Call to the Heart with the community.

I didn’t have an exact plan for how this would unfold when I arrived. I just had a few ideas that I initially acted on, and from there, momentum was created. The doors continued to open as I responded to the new ideas that were suggested.

As my final week was coming to a close, I’d sold over 90% of the books that I’d brought with me—I only had four copies left!

Even though I was immensely grateful for all of the opportunities that had opened up to share A Call to the Heart, I was still hoping to sell all of them. There was only one slight problem—besides having them on display at a local store, I didn’t have anything set-up for me to connect the book to an audience.

With so few days left in my trip, I had no idea if or how this could happen. I just stayed open and trusted without attaching to whether or not the last few books sold.

At this point, I had all of my eggs in one basket—that the last few copies would sell at the local store, where I had them on display. Unfortunately, each time that I checked my inventory, none had sold. I really wasn’t sure if this was going to happen or not.

I knew not to invest in what did or didn’t happen, because that would just provide a means for my ego to either become frustrated if nothing sold or overly identified with the sell if one took place. Instead, I trusted that God had a plan and that that plan may simply mean that these last few copies were supposed to come with me to Florida, where they’d be connected with their intended audience.

Then, a few days before leaving, I got a phone call from someone who had met me at the weekly market, where I’d been selling my books. He asked if I’d been able to schedule something at a residential community that has weekly organized socials (afternoon tea, Happy Hour, etc.), because he had a few people who were interested in the book.

Even though I wasn’t able to set-up anything official through the venue, we agreed to meet at the Friday Happy Hour.

This was it—one more chance to connect the book with its intended audience!

And yes, after I hung up the phone, I totally performed a happy dance for the potential opportunity that was opening up! How could I not when it felt as if this opportunity had just dropped out of the sky?!

24 hours later, I realized that my original vision for how the night would go—meeting people who knew I’d be there with the book and were interested in it—was quickly crumbling…

On the way to the venue, my friend informed me that one of the couples who he’d invited had cancelled due to a conflicting obligation and that he wasn’t sure if his other friends would be able to make it. Uh oh, this isn’t looking good…showing up to a Happy Hour with books made sense when I thought I was meeting people who were expecting me, but now I’m going to a Happy Hour with books that I’m trying to sell???

I’d done my happy dance. This was my last shot. I walked into Happy Hour with my four books.

It definitely seemed like the biggest leap to go from socializing at a Happy Hour, where we knew no one, to somehow selling a few copies of my book.

I embraced the night for what it could be and let go of my original vision for the evening.

Lindsey, Marco, and I grabbed a table and settled in. My books were not in a bag…they were stacked on the table, in open sight. This never drew anyone to our table, but it sure kept me focused on what the night could hold.

My friend, who helped to coordinate the evening, easily mingled with others. There was still hope—who knows who he might meet!

After a few hours of being there, I took my friend’s lead and decided to mingle. He grabbed a book from the stack and we headed to the table next to us. Since it was Happy Hour, it was really easy to strike up a conversation…

Once we figured out where everyone was from (we were talking to ex-pats from the States), we learned that one woman was from the same town as my friend, Lindsey! They immediately struck up a conversation while my other friend and I were talking to this woman’s husband.

It was a great conversation, but there wasn’t an opening to share the book. Everything changed when I turned to engage in a conversation with his wife. Within thirty seconds of our conversation, she asked what I did and I shared that I’d written A Call to the Heart.

My friend promptly showed her the book that he’d been holding, where she exclaimed “You’re Shanna! I’d like to get a copy of your book!” She’d seen a flyer that I had shared on a community email talking about the book. Then the woman next to her said she wanted a copy, too!