I sat in a Costa Rican bus terminal when God broached His next big question: “Chanel, what do you want regarding the book?”
It was about a month after the launch of “In Search of the Pink Flamingo”.
I was waiting for my bus at the terminal when I heard His whisper. I stilled.
“God, to be honest, I’ve never thought about it. That’s something to ponder.” I went
back to reading my book.
An hour later as I settled in my seat on the bus, I heard Him again, “Chanel, what do you want regarding the book?”
It hit me! Oh shit! God is serious. It felt like I was having a moment similar to King
Solomon’s in 1 Kings 3:1-15. God asked Solomon “what do you want?” and Solomon gave a wise answer. I knew I had to be very careful how I answered His question.
I responded, “Lord, I don’t know. Show me what to want. Show me what’s possible.”
I went back to my book.
Trusting God’s Unexpected Plan – Dare to Dream……
Let’s take a detour. I promise it’s connected to the story.
One of my most overused and misunderstood words is “vision”. I’ve heard Habakkuk 2:2 quoted often in church “write the vision and make it plain so he who hears it can run with it.”
Every new year I attended “Vision board” parties. Too many newspapers and magazines have felt the wrath of my scissors as I cut out pictures of hot guys, degrees, houses,
and the like. Then slap them on cartridge paper that would end up at the back of my closet for a year.
I’ve also been the one to talk about “seeing it before you see it”. And believe me, I manifested my fair share of goals out of sheer grit, stubbornness, and unwillingness to quit. My two-time burnout battle scars are a testament to this. I work hard to get whatever I
set my mind to.
But in all of that, I never got a God-given vision for my life. Not even for one area of my life. As I matured in our relationship, God would give me instructions and I would struggle and then go do it, but I didn’t get a big picture of how things were connected.
God instructed me to take steps like writing “In Search of the Pink Flamingo” and giving away all the proceeds to advance the emotional recovery of child sexual abuse survivors. But I never got a vision from Him. That all changed in Costa Rica.
That day, after 9 hours of traveling via taxis and buses, I made it to Tilarán at 8:30 pm. I opened the Uber app to find that no cabs were available.
I stood deciding if I should try the Uber app again or run into a supermarket. A random man walked up to me and offered to help in
broken English.
It was at that hour that I learned that the town did not have the Uber service that my Airbnb host had promised me was available.
There I was a lone female who barely spoke Spanish. I had no way to get from the bus station to
my Airbnb. For the first time since my trip started, I wondered if I had made the right decision.
The stranger offered to call a taxi for me. I thanked the Lord for His provision and agreed before logic set in. I then asked him to point me to a supermarket. By the time I got food, my driver, Brandon, waited.
Brandon and I hit it off immediately. Me with my broken Spanish. Him with his broken English. Between the two of us and Google translator, we joked constantly.
On the way to the Airbnb, we talked about the lake (largo) nearby. Seeing my excitement, he suggested a detour to take in a view…
Me: “Yes! I’m game.”
As we reached the spot, it hit me, “boyyy, Chañel. Some girls are easy because of money… but you are easy when it comes to a good view.” I silently pleaded, “Father God, please don’t mek this man try anything.”
Safe to say, I got my view though we couldn’t see much in the dark. Afterward, Brandon carried my suitcase to my door. By the time the night ended, I had a dedicated driver for the rest of my trip.
And just like that, God started to teach me about
His ability to provide no matter where I was.
But this is not just a tale about God’s provision. It’s a tale of how my steps of obedience led to God planting an unexpected vision in me. Now I know why I spent so much of that season feeling like I could relate so deeply with Abraham. God did the same to him!
Trusting God’s Unexpected Plan – The Big Reveal
Now back to the unexpected vision God was about to plant in me…
A few days later, I sat in my Airbnb reading Myles Munroe’s
“Understanding Your Potential”. The power went out. I felt an immense desire to sit on the balcony overlooking Lake Arenal.
I stepped outside and perched my butt on the column before continuing with my book.
A few moments later, God told me,
“Chanel, look at the lake.”
I looked up from a chapter about faith and potential. I looked out. I saw nothing new. “Lord, it is the same view. The lake is beautiful, and I can see the mountains beyond it and the volcanoes in the distance. I love it but there is nothing new there.”
“Look again”
That’s when I noticed the mountains beyond the mountains. They had been there all along, but I could not see it.
“Chanel, there is more there than you can see.”
I settled back into my book, thinking I understood what He meant. I was wrong. I did not get it.
A few minutes passed. “Chanel, walk up to the spot Brandon showed you during your first night.”
I obeyed and took the 30-minute trek to the spot. I discovered a new version of the view I’d spent days looking at from my apartment window.
As I gazed in wonder at the view ahead of me, the Lord said, “Grab your vision book and pen.”
Words bubbled up in my mind and out poured God’s answer to the question I asked Him days before. He downloaded a more-there-than-I-can-see vision that I could desire for “In Search of the Pink Flamingo”. I became the Pink Flamingo girl on paper.
That day, my pen sped across the page as I wrote and wrote. And when I finished writing, I felt speechless. What sat on those two pages terrified the shit out of me.
I could never have imagined it. It was more than I wanted. It was more than I
thought possible. It was more than I’ve ever thought of.
This was not something I could do by myself. I did not have the resources for it. Heck! God had told me just a couple of months before to give away all the money from the book which should have opened up a new personal revenue stream for me.
As I stared in stunned silence, my project management brain tried to compute what I’d need to do to make that vision happen.
I came up with nothing. I did not have the money to do it. I did not have the skillsets to do it. I did not know the people I’d need to make it happen. I could not even
conceive some of the pieces I’d need. “Lord, I cannot do this by myself.”
“That’s the point. You asked Me to show you what is possible. It’s not big enough or God-given if you can do it yourself. You need Me.”
I reread the two pages and
whispered, “Lord, yes.”
The first step He gave me? “Start writing the new book from the outline I gave you. Start writing by late November and finish by the first week in February.”
“God! That’s impossible! It took me 7 months to write In
Search of the Pink Flamingo! You are asking me to write a book in 7 weeks. That’s crazy. There is no way I can do it.”
“You can.”
I decided to trust Him and try. As you can see, I am still alive, so the feat stretched me and did not kill me.
Neither did I burn out (I’ll talk about why another time because I know, you are probably like me who believed that doing something for God means sacrificing yourself utterly).
My obedience to what felt impossible at the time birthed “Lean In To Your Pink Flamingo”, a book that will be released in March 2025, God’s willing.
As I celebrated the completion of that feat, He revealed the themes for the next few books I’d be writing. It seemed I was just getting started. I had my work cut out for the rest of my life.
And to be honest, it was more than I thought possible, so I was content to meander along
with just that. But God was about to show me even more. You see, He had yet to answer one big question that I had. How does it all fit together?
Trusting God’s Plan Even When You Don’t Understand The Pieces…
If you read the previous two parts of my
journey (Part 1 and Part 2), you’d know that my journey to writing “In Search of the Pink Flamingo” started with God calling me into business.
Through Client Success Experts, we help business owners, who love people, streamline their business operations
so they grow their business vision without burnout. This positions them to continue delivering epic client experiences and results as their business grows without sacrificing time freedom or burning out from being their business’ bottleneck.
In the midst of being obedient to God’s first call, He issued another instruction, “Time to write.” My obedience birthed my first
book, “In Search of the Pink Flamingo”. This book changes lives daily and encourages others to ditch people-pleasing and embrace who God created them to be – what I call their Pink Flamingo selves.
Eventually, my
obedience revealed my mission phrase, “Serve others in ways that honor God, YOU, and them.” Or in Jesus’ words, “Love God. Love YOU. Love Your Neighbor.” (Matt. 22:36-39). That’s the pathway to owning your pink and showing up as who you were created to be with confidence. To stop being like the parent flamingos who lose their pink and become grey because they nourish others at the expense of themselves.
Just as I was wrapping my mind around all this, God issued two more instructions: “Give away all monies from “In Search of the Pink Flamingo” to charity” and “Write the second book.”
I sometimes fussed and fought but then I’d obey. But even as I did all this, I could not see the bigger picture of how it all fits together. I felt segmented. I did not feel like I could talk about both business and ministry things at the same time. I felt like being a Pink Flamingo was limited to the personal space.
I asked God constantly, “How does it
all fit together?” I’d map out hierarchical charts, but things still felt off. It felt like I was forcing them to fit together. I could not see how the Pink Flamingo fit in every area of what He had given me.
He started giving me an answer in the most unexpected way. At a time when I was planning to extend my trip to St. Kitts, He told me, “Return to Jamaica. You have
a hike to go on.”
I obeyed though it meant leaving the place I felt most at home and preferred to be.
That day, I met my first Grey Flamingo man. A man who loved and served his family at the expense of himself. He was almost grey, having
given too much of himself to others without knowing how to nourish himself. His confidence was at an all-time low, having lost sight of who God created him to be. He was on the verge of death. My heart ripped apart as I listened to his story and saw his desperate need for help.
I saw him and I could not unsee him. Then I saw others like him and could not unsee them.
For the first time, the Pink Flamingo was not just me. It was not just people who read my book. They weren’t strangers. They were my brothers and sisters who needed help. And God had given me the tools, gifts, and heart to help them through business, my books, or philanthropic endeavors.
One night, the Lord woke me and connected all the dots. Everything led straight back to creating a gateway for the emotional wellness of the Caribbean people. A people who had not yet started dealing with the psychic wound of slavery, passing on that inheritance to their children’s children.
He showed me the men and women who suffered in silence yet performed and wore masks as their pinkness greyed out more and more each day. Men with a stud mentality, a tradition from slavery that warped their need for sex and left many broken homes in their trail. That was my father. Married men showing up as provider and protector for years without having a safe space to be themselves. That was the man I met on my hike.
And then there were the superwomen. Women who took on the mantle when the stud man didn’t show up – doing it all while battling self-worth issues and longing for the burden to be eased though their very “strong” way of being meant they struggled to release control, show their hearts, and let another lead. That was my mother and in some ways me.
I looked around me and saw the pattern repeated over and over again as kids inherited that way of being from their parents and the adults around them. Something needed to be done from all angles. I looked around me and saw the evidence of it. I looked at my life and saw those patterns clear as day.
That revelation
birthed The Pink Flamingo Way:
1) A space designed to empower recovering people-pleasers to
be their pink flamingo selves and live purposeful lives full of joy and peace. We give people access to humble, open, and transparent practical books, blogs, and resources they need to thrive. My dream is to have books that target adults and children so the people-pleasing epidemic that robs people of their pink is stopped before it even gets a chance to plant a seed.
2) A space designed to address the psychic wound of slavery and foster the emotional wellness that helps Caribbean people own their pink from generation to generation. Givers worldwide partner with us to give free therapeutic and practical resources to child sexual abuse survivors and grey flamingoes. My dream is to give away
millions of books and finance therapy and emotional wellness workshops for millions of Caribbean people and child sexual abuse survivors. And one day, partner with Caribbean educational institutions to create an emotional wellness program that’s integrated into the school curriculum at all levels.
Trusting God’s
Plan – When Things Don’t Look Like What He Promised
Now on to the final reason I wrote this three-part series about my book writing journey…
Simply put, God told me to. I did not want to, and I don’t understand why but I chose to obey.
Truthfully, I am working to trust God right now, so I procrastinated on getting it done. It is hard to put pen to paper (fingers to keyboard) about the things I am believing God for. The things He has told me about. The vision He showed me. The things He promised.
The big questions in my mind
are, “What if I heard wrong? What if I misunderstood? What if He doesn’t do it and I look like a fool? What if people think I am crazy?”
It gets harder when I know that many things don’t yet look like what God said. For example, I am still waiting for God to provide the final $2500 payment needed to finish the publishing process for the second book: “Lean In To Your
Pink Flamingo”. And yet, I stand resolute on the instructions and promises He gave me and believe that this book will be launched in March 2025, God’s Willing.
There are also many things I’d love external support with. For example, marketing and smoother shipping logistics. Yet when a good marketing opportunity presented itself, it didn’t work out. Because of the
stewardship lessons God taught me, I could not pay the person in a way that honored my obedience to Him and maintained my integrity to donors. The monies available, whether from donors or “In Search of the Pink Flamingo” book sales are for book donations and to pay for people to go to therapy, not for operational costs.
On the flip side, I see God’s hand in many ways. While I wait for God to do His part in our next steps, The Pink Flamingo Way and strangers worldwide continue to help Caribbean people own their pink by giving away books, sending people to therapy, and providing access to emotional wellness workshops, blogs, and email resources.
Since July 2023, we have been blessed to funnel more than USD 10,000 into
these channels. Last week we got more Pink Flamingo books in the hands of strangers. And just this weekend, someone donated $600 to give away books just because they are “following God’s leading”.
These are the things that blow me away. These are the stories I need to remember as I wait for Him to fulfill His promises. I guess that’s the point of this writing process.
It’s a boost for my faith as much as it is a boost for yours. These stories are memorial stones of the thousands of ways I have seen God move.
Writing about my journey reminded me of all the “yeses” I have said to God and the joy and peace that they bring. It’s a cool reminder of our journey together and all the times He has proven that I can trust Him with the vision
He gave me. Even when the next step feels scary. Even when it feels crazy and doesn’t make sense, I can trust Him. Even when things don’t work out how I thought, it works out for my good.
And that’s my reminder to you. It all works for your exceeding abundant good. That’s the beautiful promise that comes with trusting God’s plan for your life. It is the beautiful truth
that I learned throughout this book writing journey. His ways are truly higher than ours. Trust Him today and watch as you discover deeper depths of your Pink Flamingo self and life.
Read part 1 and part 2 of this story.
