Praise God for the open door!

On 1st May, I received an email from a sister in New Creation Church (NCC) whom I didn't know. She wrote to tell me that she saw my book while browsing through the Biography session at Tecman, a popular Christian bookstore in Singapore. She was surprised that the author was actually someone from NCC. She bought the book, read it and found it to be a blessing to her. Hence she wrote to tell me all that. I was pleasantly surprised by this piece of good news. My book was published in mid 2012 and ever since the initial excitement, I have not been actively marketing it.

It was amazing because I didn't even know my book was carried by Tecman until I saw the email from her. There was a time I used to frequent this bookstore to buy Christian books but somehow I have not visited Tecman for a long while. I remember calling them to ask if they could carry my book in Sep 2012 and they replied they only retail books straight from distributors. It was a closed door then but I was not discouraged. After all, I tried. And so all this while I thought my book was sold only in USA and through on-line bookstores like Amazon. Unbeknownst to me, the Lord has been working behind the scenes to open the door for my book to reach Singapore shores! I really can't believe it. A door that was previously shut to me is now opened by The Lord. Wow! I felt so loved.

Last Sat, we went to Tecman to check out my book. It was displayed in quite a prominent place in the bookshelf under 'Biography'. I don't know how to describe the feeling but I was just dumbstruck when I saw my book sold there along with other books. I really couldn't believe my eyes. It's like is it really my book??? I have never dreamt that one day I would actually publish a book, let alone for my books be sold in Tecman! I am a lover of Christian books and I used to frequent Tecman to check out the books by different authors. But on that day, I was there checking out my own book! It was really a wildest dream come true!

Seeing my book on the shelves made my heart beam with joy and pride. Yet I know it has never been me in the first place. God was the One who put the desire in me to write a book, inspired me to actually write it and He also opened the doors for publishers. Now He even opened the doors for my book to reach Singapore shores! The sister from NCC told me that my book was a new addition. I was meditating on the fact that when God opens a door, no one can shut it. It was the power of open doors.

Until today I still feel awed by the fact that God has been working behind the scenes all along. It's like I didn't even have to labour or toil or force open the door. Everything was effortless because I didn't even know about it in the first place! So how could I even sweat about it? I didn't even ask God for this open door. Since the launch of my book in 2012, it has gone all quiet after the initial buzz but I knew God has not forgotten about my book. It was just maybe the season was not right. Now that He has done this wonderful thing for me, I felt like the season to market my book again has come. After all, God made it easy for my local friends and supporters to purchase my book from Tecman, instead of having to order it on-line. Praise God for open doors!