Pieces of my Week

Making it through the airport on crutches with a baby is hard. That’s really all there is to say about that.

I never see famous people; which is good, I am a total famous-person-stalker who refuses to abide by privacy etiquette. But I saw Jenna Fischer (Pam, from The Office) in the DFW bathroom on Wednesday and was able to remain cool. One, I was on crutches and couldn’t get to my camera. Two, because even though I don’t have famous-people etiquette, I do have bathroom etiquette… everyone should be able to pee in peace. And three, it took me a while to realize she wasn’t one of my friends. We walked out of separate stalls at the same time and when she looked up I said, “Oh, hey!” like I knew her. I kept scanning my brain… how do I know her? When it dawned on me, I thought, “Well duh, Pam and I spend every Thursday night together…” This made me feel creepy. Poor famous people.

In the hotel hallway last night a little boy and his mom peeked their heads out the door as I was approaching. She said, “Tell them good night.” And I expected to see the grandparents in the next room over pop their heads out any second. Then, with his little four-year-old sunburned face, strawberry blonde hair, and baby blue pajamas he scanned the hallway and screamed in his loudest whisper, “GOOD NIGHT EVERYBODY!!!” This is the cutest thing I have seen in a long time.

It’s like corn fields, corn fields, corn fields and then… Okoboji, Iowa. Paradise Lost. We are in the most beautiful oasis this week. When I think of Iowa, I generally don’t think cool breeze, pristine lakes, perfect for sunbathing, fun restaurants on the water and all-around perfect; I just think Kevin Costner and The Field of Dreams (and then I automatically see the scene in my head where his dad realizes that that’s his son and then Kevin knows that he knows and then the wife knows and she leaves them alone for father son time and then the dead dad from the corn fields says son, do you want to play catch, uuuggghhh, and then I get chills and cry, maybe sob, and repeat the line a few times in my head, son do you want play catch?, and now they both know and they are grinning at each other, and that corn field music is playing in the background, and then every citizen of Iowa answers the call to come if they build it and I cry some more… and every time I think of Iowa I am just basically crying).

We are in this little resort town leading worship for students and playing with Superchick and KJ 52 tonight right on the lake! And the best part of this town? Ok, besides the lovely people (seriously, I have dubbed them my northern-Midwesterners, a classification for incredibly nice, hard-working, honest [but not in your face blunt honest], genuine people). So besides them the best part of this little heaven is a place called HeyGoodCookies.

Y’all… it is a homemade cookie parlor with a drive through window.

Enough said.

Yesterday we met the family who volunteered to care for Annie while we are working today. They asked me what I call her. I said, “Honestly, squirrel. She may not know she has another name.” They all lit up and the girl pointed at the 16 year-old guy and very excitedly said, “He’s a squirrel!!!” He of course is very excited as well, shaking his head, “I was a squirrel. My whole life. I was a squirrel.”

“Oh my gosh really? That’s perfect. She’s never met a grown up squirrel! This is awesome!” I was genuinely very excited for her to meet a future squirrel. He agreed she looks very much squirrely, so I guess she’s in the club now. Way to go Baby!!! Your first resume builder: Lifetime member of the squirrels.

And God Spoke Update

I have been really touched to read all of your responses to this blog entry. Whether it was encouragement or pieces of your own journey and your own struggles, they have really touched me. I know they have touched others as well. I love this community we have here.

I am trying to figure it out now. This depending on the Lord business. How does it work exactly? I am practical when it comes to finances. I find it very hard to sit around and wait on this very elusive, otherworldly deity to provide what is clearly not in front of me.

So we talked it out yesterday. God and I.

I don’t get it. Do I just tell you what we need? Do I ask? Do you already know? Do I just trust and not ask and not make a big deal about it? Do I ask then bring you some sort of dead bird or calf as a peace offering? Seriously, tell me how to do this. I mean, should we set up some sort of weekly meeting on Sunday nights? We sit down and I tell you what is going on for the week and how much money we will need for each thing? And then I sort of put in my withdrawal request? We have two doctor’s appointments, an oil change, and we would like to go see Harry Potter… that will be $100 please!

I have no idea how this works. I do know that we have two doctor’s appointments this week and the $25 co-pay that goes along with them. When you’re on a tight income $50 is hard to come by. After I had this ludicrous, semi-serious conversation with the Lord, I pretty humbly said, “I’ll stop. I don’t know how we operate from here. I think we really need to have a DTR. Just tell me what this looks like now and I will follow. I really will. I just have so many questions. I don’t know how to do what you are asking me to do. To just let go. I’m a hard worker. A fixer. A giver. I don’t know how to wait, trust, listen, and live in peace knowing that you will take care of me. I’m willing to learn, I really am. Just help me. Help my unbelief.”

An older lady who should not have been at the youth event last night came up to me after the service and said, “I know it’s a strange amount of money, but God told me to give it to you.”

$55.34

I figure the extra $5.34 was for the cookie store here in town…