Why drive 45 miles to give a speech to 8 people? I think I know. But it’s early, too soon for knowing. Maybe too soon for going.
So on faith, I pile in my car at dawn to make the trek from my house near Denver to speak to a Bible study group in Superior, a suburb of Boulder.
Not that far. But far enough on a winter morning to make me question.
In fact, the group starts at 7:30 a.m. A good start time. Besides, they’re reading my prayer memoir, I Told the Mountain to Move. So somehow the early hour fits.
Even so, I beg the leader to push back the time by an hour, factoring in the commute.
Which lands me into rush hour. Which makes the 45-minute drive a congested hour and a half. To talk to 8 people. Making me ask:
Why go? I put the question to my husband.
He’s agreed to drive. So as we pull out of the garage at daybreak to reach the 8, I ask him the question. Why put myself, as an author, through this ordeal to reach a handful of readers?
I expect 8 women, that is. When I arrive it’s actually 14. And they are beautiful. Fun. Smart. Passionate about God. Hungry for learning. In love with my humble book.
Still, a handful of people at 8:30 a.m. hardly makes sense. Not like traveling to Boston for a crowd of 5,000 at the Hynes Convention Center for an annual church meeting called Vision New England.
I was terrified. Looking out at the crowd as they announced my name, I kept thinking: How did I get here? What will I ever say to connect?
In fact, I said what I said to the 14 women in Superior. I’m grateful. Or as I said in Boston, I’m grateful you drove from Worcester—making sure to pronounce the name right, along with a half dozen other New England village names,
The crowd roared, shouting approval, when a Colorado author leaned in the microphone to say “Woos-tah” for their beloved Worcester—a name usually mangled.
So this morning in Superior I did essentially the same thing. I made the trip. Which says one thing. You matter. And God’s Word matters even more.
Simple truths. And that’s why I drove 45 miles at dawn to speak to 8 people. They love books. They love writing. They love God. They love His Word. So, that’s why author servants go. No matter how far. No matter how few. We go for love.
Patricia Raybon is the award-winning author of books and essays on mountain-moving faith. To support her writing and ministry, please order her books, including her new memoir, Undivided: A Muslim Daughter, Her Christian Mother, Their Path to Peace.
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