Off Grid to Restore My Soul

Aug 22, 2015 | Have you ever realized you were drowning in good things? That you were losing yourself in the craziness of your life? That you weren’t sure why you were doing life this way?

My life got really hectic last month as I was finishing everything to launch Bloom In the Dark: True Stories of Hope and Redemption. My boys and I were finishing our homeschooling for the year, only a couple months behind schedule. I pushed myself so hard that I had a lot of health issues pop up that last week. With God’s help, I managed to get everything done and get to Georgia for the book launch.

The book launch event was unbelievable! I got to experience so much love and support from family, friends, and others with a heart for broken women. I cried a lot. Happy tears. And got tons of hugs! I was humbled and amazed! So many good things happened for me and around me. The next day, when we counted the books sold and donated, we were up to 258 books! Since the average self-published author only sells 100 copies of their book, I knew that God was blessing this.

Then the adrenaline and excitement wore off. Everyone went home. Now what? I was “weary in well doing”…… well, exhausted, anyway. Good thing I had enrolled the boys and I at a retreat for a couple weeks.

In the middle of nowhere, with no cell reception and spotty WiFi, we got to focus on God. They had programs for kids, teens and adults. I knew my boys were having fun and making new friends, but at first, I had a hard time letting everything else go. I wanted to focus on God, but the wheels in my head didn’t want to slow down……

I was distracted by the need to capitalize on the momentum started by the book launch. How was I going to get word out about the book while I was off grid? Then, I felt God prompt me to trust Him. Bloom In the Dark was His book anyway, right?

I chose to focus on getting myself and my family aligned with God’s word and plan for our lives. To breathe in the peace and joy surrounding me. I rested and reevaluated my priorities, choices and use of time.

I laugh as I look back on the ways God showed out during that two weeks. I found out that my story and link to my book was on Squire Rushnell’s God winks Facebook page for August 1st (215,158 page likes). The Macon Telegraph published an article about the book launch. People were buying and sharing books without me.

At the retreat, I met people who got the book to share at a youth detention center in Texas, a town in Mexico, a city in Canada…….Florida, Michigan, Missouri, Virginia, Ohio, Kentucky, Alabama. The list keeps going. I also realized that 1 book touching and changing someone’s life was much better than 100’s of books sitting on shelves collecting dust.

Best of all, though, I connected with my kids in a new way. We got to discuss what our goals were as a family. We agreed that God chose us to be together through this journey. That I wanted to love and parent them like the children of God that the Bible says they are. I asked their forgiveness for all the ways I had let them down or hurt them. They forgave me and showered me with love and hugs.

We agreed that homeschooling was still our best option. We decided to rearrange our plans to accommodate the new writing/publishing business I was embarking on. I would put my boys first and only choose the opportunities that didn’t take away from them. Our team would keep working together to share God’s love with hurting people around us.

We got back to Tennessee, rearranged our home, and started the new year of school. We know who, what, when and why we’re choosing what we are for our family. I’m excited to see what God has ahead for us in this new chapter of our lives.

For our 2FOR20 deal, go to my site and select the 2FOR20 deal. At checkout, use promo code 2FOR20. This will give you 2 autographed books and get 2 donated to a charity helping hurting women. That’s really 4 for $20! This deal is only good through the end of August, so please spread the word. Thanks.

Paula Mosher Wallace