Goin' Nowhere Fast...

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Ever have one of those days? You know, the kind that could easily be be turned into poetry and become the next great country music hit?  I had one (at least one) this week...allow me to share.

One of my greatest faults is my seeming inability to get my brood anywhere in a timely fashion.  I'll be sharing about that later.  Anyway, as we were at the end of the 3rd week of the school year and my mornings had been wonderfully crisis-free, I didn't see this day coming until it hit me square in the face. 

It all began with a walk through appraisal of our home at 8:15 a.m.  No sweat. We are pros at getting our house into showcase shape in little more than an hour or two, and I savored the moment when just a little after 8:15, the appraiser appeared at my door.  The moment = me - composed and smiling, ready for the day; my kids - sharply dressed in their crisp uniforms and seated at the table eating their breakfast (not fighting), lunches all packed and sitting by the door; my home - smelling of pumpkin/vanilla {thanks to a new fall candle}, hardwood floors shining, all beds made, lamps gently lighting up each room, and clutter nowhere to be found.  It was like a scene in which I should have been an observer rather than a participant.  I won't take the time, even for the sake of contrast, to give you our typical morning scenario.  Let's just say it doesn't really include any of the above.  :-)

After the appraiser left, I took a minute to breath deeply and enjoy the beauty of the whole morning.  And for a brief moment, I felt like life was perfect.  My house was perfect, my kids were perfect, I was perfect...you get my drift.

I left the house, and realized that I needed to stop at Rite Aid for some necessities, but didn't have quite enough time to do all of that before school started, so I dropped the kids off and went back to the store.  I moved through quickly, grabbing a stash of chocolate for the incentive box in my classroom, as well as a large stash of feminine products.  As I neared the checkout, a lady came into the store from the parking lot, and asked me if I had a silver van.  I answered that I did, and she said, "The doors are open."  I looked out the window, and sure enough, one side door was open and the other was at least partially open.  In recent months, it seems my aging van has a mind of its own, and although I locked it up before I went into the store, it decided it needed a breeze and sort of opened things up on its very own.  Embarrassed, I proceeded forward, assured the checkout lady that there wasn't a correlation between all of the feminine products and the chocolate (lol), and headed out to my van.  By the way, it's really easy to load shopping bags when the doors are already open.  :-)

I slid into the van, ready to buzz back over to the school just in time to begin the day, when I realized that in the 10 minutes that the doors had been open, the battery had drained.  I wasn't going anywhere.  Well aware of the fact that I had parked in the first spot and it faced the busiest intersection around, I humbly lifted the hood and waited on my relief who was bringing cables. 

The little mishap set me back about 45 minutes plus some pride, but it also reminded me of the fact that I am not in control.  In the serenity of the perfect morning, I felt like I had it all together, but that was only an illusion quickly erased with one simple dose of reality. 

I don't know why I felt compelled to post this snapshot of a day.  Some of you are experiencing circumstances that are much more frustrating or consequential than a dead battery on a perfect morning.  You're dealing with addictions, family situations, illness, job loss, emotionally traumatic flashbacks, or maybe just the grind of life.  I've listened to you, I've prayed with you, and I've meshed my tears with yours.  Just when you feel like you've got it together and everything seems near perfect, the weight of the world crashes in and "normal" is back.  Let me encourage you today to keep on...keep persevering in truth...keep pushing toward righteousness...keep praying for miracles...keep believing God's rich promises. 

Real life isn't perfect, but real life teaches us that we are to be constantly dependent on our Heavenly Father who has promised to give us wisdom that is unmatched by anything of this world. 

 

I Peter 5:6-7

"Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God,

that He may exalt you in due time,

casting all your cares upon Him, for He careth for you."