Vakangarootion: What A Coach Does

Well, friends, have I a kangaroo of a tale for you this morning!

A few weeks ago, my little family and I had the opportunity to meet our dear Aussie friends, award winning author Karen Brough and her husband.

After some trouble connecting, we met at a small restaurant in southwestern Michigan, where Karen gifted my daughter with a kangaroo stuffed animal family. Little Lady immediately fell in love with the Little Joey.

After our short visit, we headed to a get-together organized by the amazing Chad R. Allen. Since my husband is visually limited, and Little Lady is constantly on the move, the two of them came into the get-together with me. We had told Little Lady she could bring in one toy to play with – and she chose her Little Joey.

Let me pause here to say that if you’re going to attend a get-together for writers, let it be one organized by Chad R. Allen. He’s both skilled at and passionate about helping writers get their books into the world, and the people he brings into his community to help coach and serve his writer community carry those same traits. But aside from being amazing as a writing coach, Chad found an amazing place for us to gather. His wife prepared a ton of amazing food (looking back, I wish I’d eaten more). And he did what he does best: He coached the group in an amazing, beautiful, encouraging, honest conversation about our projects, our struggles, and our hopes. While we poured out our hearts and engaged one another with ideas and encouragement and validation, my husband, Little Lady, and Little Joey played (mostly) quietly in another room closeby.

Gathering with Chad and the other writers that afternoon is one of the best choices I’ve ever made. As we were saying goodbyes, I vaguely remember Hubby asking me, “Do you have her Joey?” I don’t think I answered. My attention was turned to another person I needed to connect with just once more before we left.

We finally pulled away from embracing all of our new, old friends, reiterating encouragement and blessings and affection, and then Hubby, Little Lady, and I piled into our car. I realized I still hadn’t answered Hubby, so I said: “No, I don’t have Joey. Did he show up?” No. He hadn’t shown up.

I rushed back just as Chad was locking the door and he graciously unlocked and proceeded to help me search for the Missing Joey – to no avail. Chad said he’d ask them to keep a lookout for the Little Guy, and I said I’d let Chad know if he turned up in the car. So we left, sad for the Joey, but knowing that God does all things well, even when it involves stuffed animals (and thankful for the extra few minutes with Chad, who used the encounter to add encouragement to my already spilling-over cup).

To be honest, I pretty much forgot about Joey. I mean, I knew he was missing, but we spent the next several days doing so many things and being with my husband’s family and… we just didn’t spend a lot of time grieving the Little Guy at that point (though Little Lady did ask for Joey several times during the week and we had to remind her that Mister Chad was trying to find him – but you know, she wanted to do things with Little Joey; she wanted him to go to the playground with her; she wanted him to blow bubbles with her; she wanted to show him to Granny).

And then I received this photo message from Chad:

Little Joey had been found! Little Lady was ecstatic!

In the days to follow, Chad proceeded to send pics of Little Joey vacationing (see below), which gave Hubby and I a good laugh, but really seemed to matter to Little Lady. I’ve been turning that around in my heart, trying to figure out why that is so important, and now that Little Joey is home safe and sound with Little Lady, I think God is beginning to show me a bigger picture of what happened.

There may actually be more writing coaches in America than there are grains of sand (I started counting, but I was thankfully distracted by a woodpecker who threw me off of my counting rhythm). Choosing a coach can feel a bit like that card trick where you “pick a card, any card.” Does it even matter what card you grab?

In writing, it does matter. See, you can find a coach who will guide you in developing your concept. You can find a coach who will work specifically with fine-tuning your book proposal. You can find a coach who will challenge you to work harder and write better.

But what if you found a coach who turned back, unlocked the door, and helped you search for a missing toy?

What if, in those moments, you found a coach who was still coaching and encouraging you, even though the actual get-together had concluded?

What if you found a coach who understood that a Little Lady would be sad that she was enjoying vacation while her Little Joey was lost somewhere in the world?

What if you found a coach who took a few moments out of his jam-packed world to reassure Little Lady that Little Joey was doing just fine during their time apart?

What if you found a coach who cared about the things that matter to you – writing related or not?

That’s not about the coach; that’s about the man.

Go check out Chad R. Allen. If you’re a writer with a passion project on your heart, get into Chad’s scope of vision; tell him that Joey sent you – there won’t be any special freebies or anything, but… well, it’ll make Chad smile.

From my heart to yours,