3.04.2006

My lucky day

So, I know it's been a long time but bear with me. And believe me that there is not a shred of sarcasm in the title of this blog, just a joy and a bit of awe at God's goodness.

Some of the wisest words I heard today came out of the neon green braced mouth of a 4th grade girl scout who's name I don’t even know. She's the one who told me it was my lucky day.

here comes the part where you might be tempted to think I’m being sarcastic.

As of this morning the car I just agreed to sell to Greg is not running.
You know, my "cute little thang" that has run reliably without incident for over a year. Yes her, the one I could really use the next three weeks while I’m getting all ready to leave.
The sweet red cavalier I planned to use to visit the notary and the church and the post office this morning.
And maybe, just maybe, if I got at least 3/4 of my to do list done this afternoon, the car I wanted to drive to see my Micah and Hunter in Ohio this evening.

Yeah that's the car, the one that has a clogged radiator foiling all of my plans.

And here is the part where I explain why I’m not being even the least bit facetious.

This morning, in light of my car not being able to go more than 200 yards without violently overheating, I was walking my errands. (If you need to visit a notary, and make copies, and mail important papers, Mars is a great town to be a pedestrian in.)

And by God's Grace (because He knew I was not in the state of mind to handle a rainy or snowy or even cloudy day) the sun was shining. And I had shoes and a warm coat and scarf and hat and gloves.

And on my way from Eckerd’s to the Post Office there were Girl Scouts outside Foodland, selling cookies from 11 to 1. I missed Girl Scout cookie ordering by being in Colorado. And ironicly had I been driving my errands today, I would have totally missed them today too. And at that table outside foodland, I was reminded just how blessed I am. Today is my lucky day!

And then later in my day God really reminded me of the smart friends I have, like Jenni in The Netherlands and Kristen in Northern Ireland who are figuring this out ahead of me. So that I can learn from them (ok that's not the only reason they are out of the country it's just an added perk for me!).

It's like having big sisters. I’ve always had to be the one who the parents experimented on and who had to fight for what the younger siblings got easily. Believe me I'm appreciating learning from others experiences much more than if I had been doing it all my life.

"My deal with God is that He says, “Go” and I say, “where?” It’s not out of blind obedience, it’s out of eternal gratitude and the understanding that if God is up to something, I want to be a part of it. "

Kristen, thank you. I needed to be reminded of that today. I needed to have that agreement put right up in my face. To help me see what I need to remember this lent.

And I needed to be reminded to ask the right questions. Not "WHY God!?" but "God, WHERE are You in this?" (Thank you Aaron Stern and Podcasts)

And so, today was my lucky day because God was in the sunshine and in the Girl Scout cookies and in the peace He hands out so freely!