As you now know, we planned for months to film the video trailer for this new book – invited girls, sent out tweets and reminders, made announcements. I prayed as I perhaps haven’t prayed before for this type of thing. I know the importance of images and story and how video brings a message to life. I want this to be awesome.

They called for rain the day of the shoot, the only rain all week. They said it would be severe, and by 10 am we had to make a decision. We chose to postpone the outdoor shoot until the next day. We didn’t want to get rained on.

Well, the weather was severe, indeed – severely bright. The sun came out and bathed the neighborhood with warm summer light. Never even one raindrop.

We tried not to curse the weatherman.

The next day was supposed to be clear all day long but by afternoon, the sky that was holding itself together with heavy gray hands chose to spread out  fingers and turn palms down, releasing the heaviest downpour we’ve seen in a month.

Three of us shared an umbrella to my car but the rain was so heavy we were soaked anyway.

Hours later, there was a break in the rain just long enough for us to get what we needed and not a minute longer. I asked for a feast but got manna instead.

Through the whole process, I became aware of my reluctance to ask and be specific in prayer, especially when it doesn’t involve life, death, or someone else. I’ve been paying more attention to how I pray and the words I use. I’ve been stunned to realize how timid I can sometimes be.

Praying for this video felt a safe place to practice courage and to pray boldly for some things. I don’t think it means I was wrong to ask. I just think the answer was no.

I’m not worried about the outcome as we have an amazing team in charge of this whole thing. But I’ve learned about myself in the past week and that’s not always fun. It’s usually good, though. Even in these very small-in-the-scope-of-life things, we learn and grow and become a little more fully ourselves. I can’t wait to see the finished product in a few weeks. You’ll be the first to know.

PS. I got my first copy of the book in the mail on Friday. In the days and weeks ahead, Graceful will start showing up in a bookstore near you. Or you can pre-order your copy for less than $9 here, here, or here. I hope you will.