Afraid of Feeling Foolish (Pull off the Band-aid)

I am so thankful for people who get back to me to explain how their world works.  Because, truthfully, I really don't know about so many things.  Previously I was too afraid to ask.  But now I just take a deep breath to allow the uncomfortable feeling to pass, and I just ask.

Here's one example.  In 1997 I wrote a children's book that seemed to hold promise.  A publisher was willing to produce it but I had to put $1,000 towards the illustrations.  That amount seemed daunting at the time so I went the personal publishing route and failed.

I have had hopes of resurrecting the book, dreaming about having a published illustrator paint my words and bring them to life.  As a result I needed to ask someone how that works.  I took a deep breath and emailed the publisher for Elise Parsley, creator of If You Ever Want to Take an Alligator to Work, Don't!  (The illustrations in this book are amazing and tell a story behind a story.)

What happened is that I received a gentle email back stating that the requests usually come publisher to publisher, not direct requests.  I am so grateful to know because now I know what I am dealing with and I can put it on my heart that when I get a publisher, I can request Elise Parsley.  Sure it's a far-fetched dream right now, but only right now.

When we "pull off the band-aid" quickly, without hesitation, it may allow for healing to take place because we have done something and then have given room for the next thing to happen.  This next thing could be new space for other things because we have released what was holding us, or it could be an acknowledgement that we still want something and are keeping it on our heart.  It could mean other things, too, but that's for you to find out when you ask God* directly.
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Now for the reflective questions which you can journal about or if you'd like to share your story, I'd love to hear from you and the community would love to hear from you!  Your comment could have a major impact on someone else; most likely it will be just the right thing at the right time for one of the readers. For me, God* wanted me to know that helping even just one person is wonderfully impactful.

Reflective questions:

1.  Is there something you have had on your to-do list for awhile, but are holding back?.

2.  What does God* want you to know about this (ask directly, God, what do you want me to know?)

* I use the term God as a universal term.  You may decide that Great Spirit, Allah, Higher Power, etc. better suits you today.  It is not for me to decide.