Who the Bleep is this Guy?

 Everyone has a story to tell. No matter what age, gender or
ethnicity, there is something that you have seen or experienced
that will make a good story. Often the most interesting stories are
the ones that never are told at all. Stories are like art, not everyone
is going to appreciate them. Also, just because you have a story
doesn’t mean you are a good storyteller. Communication is key in
telling a relevant story or even a good joke.
The hardest thing to do is to tell a story in a way that explains what
happened, not only so that the listener understands it, but also so
it can resonate with the readers. As we all know, some things do
not translate well into the written word. I once read a book by a
famous comedian and was disappointed by it, until I found the
audio version and then it was hilarious. Listening to the author tell
the story of his life was much more entertaining than reading it.
What I am trying to say is that writing is difficult and writing
something interesting is very difficult. On top of that, the topic at
hand is not enjoyable.
We tend to judge how interesting something is by who wrote it.
How many books do you read because you know who the author
is? We all have our favorites that we continue to go back to no
matter what they write. We have also been disappointed once or
twice when a certain book didn’t live up to the hype of the previous
one. Well-known authors are much like
160
professional athletes. Once they do something great, it becomes
expected of them all the time.
A forty touchdown season by a quarterback is great unless you
remember that he threw fifty the year before, and then it seems
like a step backwards. Bestselling authors tend to carry the same
kind of burden whenever a new book is released

There is a tendency to buy books from celebrities that we think we
know. Biographies are some of the best books that I have read and
also some of the worst! Books from well-known pastors or radio
hosts are generally written to the audience that they have already
established and don’t resonate well with those outside of their fan
base. More than once, I have NOT purchased a book because of
who wrote it. I think “I know about that guy, and he is a jerk, so I
don’t really care about his book.”
About halfway through this project, I felt like I had gotten enough
self-therapy and had enough of a breakthrough to quit writing. It
seemed like I had figured out enough stuff to change who I was and
how I was living, so I stopped writing.
I actually started another project in the middle of this from another
experience that made writing a little more fun. I would come back
to this assignment occasionally as things in my life would improve
and I would learn even more about myself and my relationships,
but I never thought it would turn into anything important. It wasn’t
until my wife started reading what I had written, and she
mentioned it to someone else that I knew I had stumbled onto
something more.
I can’t remember the exact moment that God revealed to me that
this project was bigger than me trying to sort out my own life but
when he did, I started to panic. What was God trying to tell me? I
didn’t want anyone to read this stuff! I didn’t even want to write it
down in the first place.
“Keep writing until I stop you,” was all He would tell me. When I
finally agreed to put my focus back on this project, I decided to
161
point out to God what a mistake he was making, and that there
was certainly someone out there better at dealing with this issue
that could reach far more people than I ever could. If this is such an
important topic, don’t you want to be able to get it to as many
people as possible?

There are times when I have asked God something and he would
have to wait to answer until I was at a point that I was able to
receive the answer. This was not one of those times. He knew I
would be able to understand the answer so completely that I am
now able to use it to answer the question you have about me as an
author.
The question is in the title of the chapter. “Why meGod? Give this
to someone else who already has a platform and audience. An
unknown author is the wrong way to get this message out there.”
He gave a long answer but here is the condensed version of what
He told me. This topic has to be approached by an unknown author
to make sure God gets the credit for any impact the book has.
His point was that if you have found this book, it is not because of
the author. The topic at hand is what grabbed your attention.
There is something inside of you that wants to know how to deal
with an issue that is bothering you. You have no bias about the
author one way or the other. There is no reason to be concerned
about any hidden agenda that I might have. This is just an
interesting story (hopefully) told by an average, mid-western,
middle-aged, slightly overworked, government employee,
drafting this book at night after working all day out in the
elements, typing on a 12-year-old Windows 7 desktop computer.
There is nothing glamorous about this process, I promise. As I sit
here, writing this, I am reminded of the character played by Robert
Redford in The Natural, (Not the talented, young version with tons
of potential but the older, broken-down version of the character).
When the manager of the baseball team gets a phone call from the
team scout telling him that he is sending him a player from
162
the minor leagues named Roy Hobbs, the manager wants to know
“Who in the hell is Roy Hobbs?” The answer from the scout is that
he is “a nobody from nowhere” which describes me pretty well. 

Actually, I am fine to stay as a nobody. I did not write any of the
words in this book to become somebody, but I know that this
needs to be written. Another thought is that because I am
unknown, I get to be completely honest with you.
I have no reputation or career to worry about damaging. That
might be why many well-known speakers and ministers tend to
ignore this topic in their sermons. Not really a ‘feel good’ sort of
message. I have also never seen a charitable event to raise
awareness or find a cure for it.
Once I found a way to deal with it in my own life, it became clear
that only someone who has lived with it and traveled through it
could actually address it the way that it needs to be addressed. Get
in some stretching and take a few warm-up swings because the
game is about to start. I have already hit my home run and
shattered my scoreboard, so as I continue to circle the bases (that
part never really ends), you can start to focus on what your
storybook ending could look like.