The Gift of Connection

It’s been almost two months since I released The Restless Grain, and I wanted to share two lessons I’ve learned in that time and provide some fun book updates.

Before we dive in, thank you for your encouragement and support for the book and its release! I am grateful for you!!

This book has given me a reason to connect with people on a deeper level.

For example, if you belong to a church community, it is normal to know some people and not know others. There are people we see regularly and wave at or offer a “hello,” but the interaction stops there.

The Restless Grain has given me a reason to connect with people who I’ve only previously known in passing: “Hi, we’ve not really met before. My name is Caitlan. I notice you have grandchildren and I wanted to share that I recently wrote a children’s book they may enjoy.”

One such wonderful encounter with a grandfather led us to a conversation where he shared that he worked with Mother Teresa (St. Teresa of Calcutta) as a young man. Saint Teresa is one of my best heavenly friends, so of course we gushed over her and how she has brought us closer to Jesus. Now, he and I can call each other by name when we see each other at church.

I think God rejoices when his children meet like this—learning to call each other by name and find life-giving connection.

At a book event at a church this past week, one of the children asked me, “What was the hardest part about making this book?”

“Great question,” I replied. “The hardest part was probably my own fear that I had never done something like this before and doubt that I could do it well.”

I love children—I love their hearts and their minds, and I think they deserve more credit than we give them for their capacity to see and understand.

I know God led me to create this book, and also there were major moments of insecurity in the process of creating it.

So, as I have read the book to children, and parents and grandparents have reached out to share how much their children connected with the book, it has brought such joy and confidence to my heart—yes, I do understand the hearts of children and thank you God for leading me on through the moments of doubt.

Since the book came out, we’ve had a launch party and I’ve done an event at a local church. We have had so much fun reading the book, planting seeds (like the farmer in the opening scene), and making the unleavened bread recipe from the back of the book.

Here are some photos of the fun:

I received a bulk order of the hardcover books, and they are beautiful! (You can see my very excited face in the bottom left corner above.) Right now, I am selling these in person and at events, but will have online distribution set up soon. If anyone is a seller of goods and has a favorite way to distribute, please send me a message!

I’ll be at the Fiat Conference selling books and enjoying the day this coming weekend, and then get to make an author visit to my elementary school the following week.

Finally, much to my surprise, I felt the tug to get back on Instagram and it’s actually been a lot of fun. I’ve been able to connect with people I haven’t spoken to in such a long time and I’ve loved seeing some of the fun creative work people are up to!

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Thanks for reading, and God bless you and those entrusted to you!

Caitlan

Interested in an author visit for your church or school? I’d love to chat with you! Please email me at rangel.caitlan@gmail.com