February was a long month at my house. Part of it was the weather, which thanks to the inexorable march of time, is now only a dim memory. But part of it was something else was the long wait for the first sales report (and royalty check) for A Different Dream for My Child. The Discovery House minions said July through December sales figures would be compiled in January, so that information and my first royalty check for would arrive sometime in February.
Day after day, the check didn’t come. The last week of February, Hiram got so antsy he asked if I planned to call them and ask where it was. A few days later, an envelope from the publisher arrived in the mail, and the news was good – almost 4000 books sold from September 1, when the book was released, until the end of December. That means that maybe, just maybe, there will soon be a second printing.
The news was welcome, but it paled compared to my recent correspondence with Joy Owens, a mom who read Different Dream after her baby Sam was born with a severe heart defect in November. She emailed me once during his hospitalization to say how much the book had encouraged her. Then she emailed at the end of January to say their little boy had died.
A few weeks ago, she contacted me again. She and her husband decided to use the money given in Sam’s memory to start a gift bag ministry for babies with heart conditions and their parents. A Different Dream for My Child will be one of the items in each bag. Tears come to my eyes whenever I think of what the Owens family is doing in response to their great loss. Their compassion and vision amazes me. Being part of what they are doing is more valuable than all the sales figures and royalty checks I will ever receive.
You can read more about the project at Sam’s CaringBridge page . Joy says the bags will cost almost $100 each, and they hope to start a website about the project soon. As the project progresses, I’ll post updates in case any of you would like to donate something to defray the costs of the bag.
And please, if you feel led would you join me in praying for the Owens family? Their eight-year-old son, Matt, also lives with a chronic heart condition. Though the whole family – Kurt, Joy, Parker, Matt, and Emma – is reaching out to other families, they do so with raw and grieving hearts.
Father, please this day and every day, wrap your arms around the Owens family and grant them peace. Amen
