Well hello world!

My memoir has officially launched. I must say, I am not quite sure how I am feeling. There was certainly a lot of build up to the moment. Now that is it over, I rejoice. I wait and see what God has in store. One thing I know for certain is that I am blessed and honored by all who attended my launch party. For those who couldn’t make it and have asked for more event details, this post is for you. The following are my comments before doing a reading from my book.

Feel virtually hugged and sincerely appreciated. And may you be encouraged to seek out the beauty of your own journey.

Sincerely, Your Maria

Thank you all for coming!

They say, “Those who can’t do, teach.” Well for me, it’s more like, “Those who avoid speaking in front of an audience, yet have something to say, write!” Needless to say, I am grateful to be surrounded by friends, family and my readers. There is so much love and support here. It gives me courage to stand before you today!

One might think a memoir – a telling of one’s life – would be a relatively straightforward affair. Maybe for some but not so for me. 

Believe me, writing this memoir has been a journey in itself:

• It started with a vow I declared to God decades ago. I was on the phone with my sister in a moment of defiant desperation when I declared that I would write our story of how God would save our family. In my opinion, a vow to God is a serious matter – it must be kept. Since then, I’ve learned how true and wise it was to keep it.
• I had no idea how God was gonna do it – to save us, nor how long the journey would last. I certainly didn’t anticipate the relentless twists and turns we faced. But, I trusted God. I believed with my whole heart, He would restore us. Spoiler alert: Ultimately he did!
• This vow led to 100’s of pages of journaling events, memories and emotions. Much of which remain in the journals themselves, but which have proven invaluable to my personal growth which is the backbone of my memoir. 
• Then arose the challenge from the emotional journey: Fighting against the fear of what people might think, when you make yourself vulnerable and expose your innermost thoughts and greatest failures to the world on paper (including your family). I praise God who held my heart throughout the process and gave me peace about being brave. He assured me that sharing our truth was necessary so others might be encouraged to reveal truth in their own journey which will lead to their own personal healing and hope for their future.
• Not roadblocks – God’s perfect timing Instead: For years the publishing process was stalled and the ending not yet right until the day my mom (who suffered with dementia during her last years of her life) had a lucid moment, her last lucid moment with me, before passing. In an instant, she recognized me and begged me to keep writing. I took that as a holy command and her last wish for me. I remained committed to complete the process. Once back on it, I came upon my publisher, Illumify Media Group, who expertly guided me to the finish line. Finding them was also a journey in itself. After that, the ending chapters basically wrote themselves. Truly, every step of the way was pretty miraculous. I know without a doubt that God’s timing is worth waiting for!  

I hope it’s becoming clear that my memoir, is truly a collaborative work in the purest sense of the word. It was prayed over by many faithful friends, benefactors, through multiple seasons of life. It uniquely involved the work of the Lord and many cherished friends, especially those who are characters in my book. I received guidance from writing experts and writing groups, from book editors who coached me and essentially shaped my writing into something worth reading. I thank you all for that. 

Most importantly, I acknowledge the essential spiritual collaboration that guided the pen. I praise God, The Holy Spirit, for taking my brokenness and allowing me to write my way to healing and wholeness. By His design, every chapter highlights His ever present help, instruction, wisdom and guidance. I have experienced that the Living God can do immeasurably more than we can ask imagine or think – most assuredly, if we let Him. If we ask Him to.

In closing, it is by God’s grace that I stand before you today with my beautiful, wonderful family. We are together and they are by my side. So I thank God and each and everyone of you who have loved on us throughout this process. 

I especially want to thank my husband and our children for their selfless encouragement to complete this memoir – to expose our life to the world – to bring courage and hope to others. I thank you for your trust in me, for your patience with me, and your endurance alongside me. A wife, a mother couldn’t be more proud!!

Truly, we are blessed and can only hope should you who choose to read Journey into Living Waters, you will be blessed beyond measure!