So my church of 4 years celebrated it's 20 year anniversary a couple of weeks ago. And today, the campus ministry I'm a part of held a luncheon for our small group Bible study leaders, where 3 alumni spoke about their conversions and involvement with Victory Campus Ministry while they were at ECU.
Both of these events confirmed all that God has done through Greenville Christian Fellowship and how consistant He is. I am in complete awe of the church family He has set me in and how He allows me to contribute to something that has been steadily moving for 20 years!
Considering I am well aware of all that He's accomplished in my life over the past 4 years, I have tried multiplying that by 5 years, and hundreds of folks. I am blessed beyond belief by this overwhelming concept.
Things have barely changed, almost nothing has changed, to be exact. Pastor Mike, Pastor Eddie, and their wives have been continually surrounded by strong individuals who exhort them as they plug away day after day.
As I reflect on how steady and constant Jesus is, I notice lil 'ol me in the scheme of things. I yearn to make a difference, and He lets me! I desire to be a solid friend and example in others' lives, and He makes a way. I want to be great, He is great through me. I hope for more revelation of Him, He bestows it upon me. I grow weary, He strengthens me. I limit Him, He is limitless.
I have so much to learn, and sometimes I am not so sure about my motivation to learn (grow, and be stretched). But I am reminded that my feelings are not what matter, my obedience to move forward in spite of myself is what matters. And the rewards are unbelievable, they don't make sense, they follow the normal cause and effect correlation.
So as I face this new chapter of life- being a campus minister and a program coorinator for a company that provides tutoring to K-5th graders, I try to avoind asking God "Why" in order to focus on "How" He always makes a way, He always has a plan that is far above anything I could come up with, and He always loves me!
Hebrews 1:3 "And He is the radience of His glory and the exact representation of His nature, and upholds all things by the word of His power. When He had made purification of sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high,"
Sunday, September 19, 2010
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
Lord You are Good
And your mercy endures forever.
This month marks 4 years that I have been in Greenville and so much has changed! Most of it's for the best, lots of it is bitter-sweet, and a little bit of it seems shocking.
I have been on quite a journey for the past two years, raising support. And I guess I imagined that the journey would end when my support team was complete... or something. I have no idea what I thought, but here I am in the midst of a brand new journey.
I have been on staff as a part-time campus minister for a whole week. I have been a program coordinator with A Step Above Tutoring for two whole days. And I am continuing to raise support. I spoke at a church tonight, which went well. As I rode home my mind was going in a hundred different directions, thinking of people I need to contact, follow-up, check-in with, so on and so forth. I was overwhelmed and God gives me what I need.
I received a text from a sister-in-Christ and a former UNCW classmate who, now, also lives in Greenville. I have not seen her in the past two years and we don't talk very often. I knew she'd had a stroke within the past year and meant to visit with her, but good intentions aren't enough. She wrote "I just said a prayer for you because the Spirit told me to and because I love you friend". I was moved and peaceful that the Lord moves so quickly when I am in need. So I made several calls and then called her. Already touched by her willingness to lift me up, I was further moved when I heard her precious little voice. The stroke affected her speech and I crumbled. Here she was caring for me when all I wanted to do was care for her. But she doesn't need me to do anything, she has a great attitude- mine is the one that needs some work. My perspective has been shifted. She knows when to hold 'em and when to fold 'em- I'm the one who struggles with taking it easy. She has her priorities straight, knows we're not promised tomorrow- I'm the one trying to get tomorrow's worries taken care of...
Thank you Lord.
Saturday, June 19, 2010
No excuses No regrets
Ever since my missions experience to Baja, Mexico my urgency to spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ has increased. I am faced with the reality that I traveled quite a distance after raising quite a bit of money to reach people I'd never met before and may never meet again. My confidence was ignited, I spoke with excitement in front of the 83 other missionaries I'd traveled with as well as a crowd of Mexicans who came to hear the good news we had for them. And here I am, back in NC wondering why I haven't told my loved ones and my neighbors about Jesus dying for them to have freedom while here on this Earth and an eternity of life in Heaven.
A while back, I saw a fella who was born without legs talking about how he doens't make excuses. He did everything I do on a daily basis and so much more. Well, I have never forgotten him and try to follow his lead. I still make tons of lame excuses, but will remember his example and try to step up to the plate. Well, my new desire to not have any regrets goes hand in hand with not making excuses. For example, I would regret not telling a loved one that Jesus loves him or her... so natually I have to let go of the excuses which have kept me from sharing Christ's love thus far. I have begun stepping out in faith and obedience and trust God to lead them into His glory as my friends, family, and neighbors step out of their lives as they know them into His Kingdom and righteousness.
A while back, I saw a fella who was born without legs talking about how he doens't make excuses. He did everything I do on a daily basis and so much more. Well, I have never forgotten him and try to follow his lead. I still make tons of lame excuses, but will remember his example and try to step up to the plate. Well, my new desire to not have any regrets goes hand in hand with not making excuses. For example, I would regret not telling a loved one that Jesus loves him or her... so natually I have to let go of the excuses which have kept me from sharing Christ's love thus far. I have begun stepping out in faith and obedience and trust God to lead them into His glory as my friends, family, and neighbors step out of their lives as they know them into His Kingdom and righteousness.
Saturday, June 5, 2010
I have been in "Baja" or Rosarita Mexico for the past several days. God has surely multiplied the time, because the team of 80 that i am with has built a church, a house, a school house, thrown a fiesta (sports games, face painting, a clown with balloons, arts and crafts, etc.) where we fed 500 locals, street evangelized, worshipped God, eaten a bunch, taken a 40 minute bus ride to and from the site, well... this could go on and on.
Let me tell you about what God has done in my lil ol life. My prayers were that I would become selfless, see people changed for Christ, and for an urgency to burn in me that I'll be able to take home. My prayers have been answered already and the best day is yet to come (tomorrow we hand the keys of the church to the Pastor). God has shown me His love for me through a 5 years old named Kevin. While visiting the school, I had the honor of drawing pictures with a kindergarten class. After about 20 minutes of doing my best at sign language- having no clue what these precious children were saying to me and them having no clue what I was saying- I asked La Lo, the translator, to let Kevin know I wasn't ignoring him but that I simply couldn't respond. La Lo did, and then asked if there was anything Kevin wanted to tell me... he wanted to tell me that he loved me! This was enough for me- my trip was already made worth while.
And today, Kevin and his mom were at the fiesta! God is good, all the time! And He loves all His creation!
Well, I've had one of the hugest days of my life... I am going to rest, but there is more to come. And pictures once I get home...
Monday, May 31, 2010
Enjoying the journey
The other day I was in an in-depth conversation about the status of my precious life. The wise man I was speaking with said, "don't hit the fast-forward button on your life." And today, not in any sort of conversation, I heard another wise man randomly quote AW Tozer,"Many Christians are satisfied with their destination but they neglect the journey." I am pretty sure God is trying to tell me something...
So... I get it! Well, I hope and pray it has dropped from head knowledge to being known by my soul. I had a present (gift) tattooed on my ankle a couple years ago to remind me to "stay in the present"... it's cute but worthless. Staying in the present moment has more to do with remaining in the presence of the Lord, which I have stunk at lately. I have been doing everything for God, with the impression that I was spending time with Him. Wrong, oh so wrong. It's the oddest thing considering I know better! But none of that knowledge mattered when I became satisfied with my relationship with my Heavenly Father.
As you may very well know, I have been raising support to get onto the campus of ECU as a full-time missionary. What you may not realize is that I have been in this process for 18 months. I am all sorts of ready to be released from this season of waiting. Thus the AW Tozer quote, which almost knocked me over!
Another area I seem to want to "fast forward" is this season of singleness. I experience weeks of loving it, and appreciating the freedom to do whatever I want. And weeks of feeling like I am going to melt if I have to live another day (just so you know, I am laughing at myself right now!) single. Yuup, putting it ALL out there people. The point is, I am exactly where Jesus wants me and as a song lyric so gracefully says, "He's making me a mountain that cannot be moved."
I have been single as long as I have been living for the Lord, 4.5 years. I am 25 years old and tons of my friends are getting married. It takes a lot to get me to a wedding because I rather... well, let's just say they hurt my single-person feelings. My friend since the 5th grade invited me to her May 22nd wedding and I couldn't live with myself if I skipped out just to save myself from some hurt feelings.
And boy am I grateful I went. Rachel and Joshua Chui's wedding makes the top 5 list of "the most beautiful occasions I have ever witnessed"! A frog jumped in my throat the second I saw her looking like an angel with such peace and joy (crap, I am getting chocked up again just thinking about it). The pastor who married them had so many beautiful and true things to say about their relationship: the way they pursue God, the way Josh pursued Rachel, how this won't be the best day of their lives because they are destined for so much more, I could go on and on.
The point is, I was extremely blessed by their example of love, sacrifice, and pure joy. And as ready as I think I am for that sort of thing... I am single and I trust God knows best. His thoughts are higher than mine and I appreciate that. So... my feelings were not hurt at the wedding, but I did cry a lot in regards to the beauty. Mostly during the moments they demonstrated honor and respect for their parents, or any time anyone else cries. Oh and I should let you know that I was trying to hold back the tears because all I could find to catch them was an old tissue that was wrapped around a piece of gum (gross, I know!). When Rachel danced with her Dad, I found a legit tissue which allowed me let it all out, and a girl I hardly knew felt the need to rub my back. Let's just say I was a wreck! Keep in mind that Rachel and her Dad planted many seeds of Christ's love in my life and played large roles in my knowing Jesus! They mean the world to me. Yes, I am trying to explain my-crying-self, but the reality is God made me tender and He's transformed my heart of stone into that of flesh!
Enough about me, let me show you this amazing union I am honored to have witnessed. One that helps me "play" and not "fast-forward" because I know God will bring along that man who is more amazing than I can imagine.
Tuesday, May 25, 2010
I just show up and find out
Wow, so much has occurred that I am quite frankly overwhelmed to think of it all... and I have used my better judgement to not record that which I have wanted to blog. Allow me to share a small portion of the last month that will not offend anybody.
After not seeing Molly for the 3 years she's been living in Chicago, I got to spend the weekend with her, her mom Joanne, and her brother Noah- for his graduation from UNC-Asheville. Molly and I met when she was in the 3rd grade, I was in the 4th. Her mom would take me to school in trade for horse-riding lessons my mom gave Molly. We became sisters 17 years ago, so naturally Noah became a brother to me, and Joanne a mom! Getting to spend an entire weekend with individuals I consider very important made for a lot of excitement and very little rest, and practically no sleep. But please know that we ate very well- Noah had us in all his favorite spots eating far more than a person should intake (my pants are still a bit snug).
So after traveling through the mountains, attending a graduation in the scorching sun, a fantastic effort to do P-90-X on a 7inch screen, and fighting off 6 dogs... I laid down to get some sleep Saturday night, only to have a semi-asleep conversation with Molly as we shared a "too cool for sleep" moment. We were delirious...
Sunday morning, we had yet another delicious meal then Molly, Jo, and myself headed back to Pittsboro. Molly was driving Jo's VW Passat stationwagon at about 75 mph when all of a sudden it began to PEEP PEEP PEEP and the display began flashing "STOP"... as tempting as it was, Molly used her better judgement and did not stop but slowed down and got off on an exit trusting we'd get to a gas station. We let it cool, read the manual (which was not well designed for people in distress), added oil and got back on the road.
Well, I guess it was about 20 minutes later that the BEEPing and "STOP" began to flash again. We knew that meant not to push it, so luckily we were able to pull off into Hickory. It would have been more lucky had it not been Sunday afternoon... no assistance was available. We set up shop in a tiny gas station, constantly in someone's way in order to have a lil AC. After weighing our few options we used AAA and got a tow truck.
All of that to say, or show you how we rode the next 3 hours of our lives. And as always, God is constantly growing me and stretching my comfort zone. Molly and Jo shared the bucket seat and I used them as my seat... with my personal space and boundary issues: legs were going numb, my knees were crammed up and rubbed raw as I used the glove compartment to find some balance. I preferred to sit up, but Jimmy- our excellent driver- kept having me to sit back so he could see the mirrors (kinda important). Considering our lack of sleep and poor diet (breakfast was great, but a Pepsi and ice cream for lunch and dinner...) it did not take much to get me laughing. Just being in that position was enough to get me going...
Wish you could have been there
After not seeing Molly for the 3 years she's been living in Chicago, I got to spend the weekend with her, her mom Joanne, and her brother Noah- for his graduation from UNC-Asheville. Molly and I met when she was in the 3rd grade, I was in the 4th. Her mom would take me to school in trade for horse-riding lessons my mom gave Molly. We became sisters 17 years ago, so naturally Noah became a brother to me, and Joanne a mom! Getting to spend an entire weekend with individuals I consider very important made for a lot of excitement and very little rest, and practically no sleep. But please know that we ate very well- Noah had us in all his favorite spots eating far more than a person should intake (my pants are still a bit snug).
So after traveling through the mountains, attending a graduation in the scorching sun, a fantastic effort to do P-90-X on a 7inch screen, and fighting off 6 dogs... I laid down to get some sleep Saturday night, only to have a semi-asleep conversation with Molly as we shared a "too cool for sleep" moment. We were delirious...
Sunday morning, we had yet another delicious meal then Molly, Jo, and myself headed back to Pittsboro. Molly was driving Jo's VW Passat stationwagon at about 75 mph when all of a sudden it began to PEEP PEEP PEEP and the display began flashing "STOP"... as tempting as it was, Molly used her better judgement and did not stop but slowed down and got off on an exit trusting we'd get to a gas station. We let it cool, read the manual (which was not well designed for people in distress), added oil and got back on the road.
Well, I guess it was about 20 minutes later that the BEEPing and "STOP" began to flash again. We knew that meant not to push it, so luckily we were able to pull off into Hickory. It would have been more lucky had it not been Sunday afternoon... no assistance was available. We set up shop in a tiny gas station, constantly in someone's way in order to have a lil AC. After weighing our few options we used AAA and got a tow truck.
All of that to say, or show you how we rode the next 3 hours of our lives. And as always, God is constantly growing me and stretching my comfort zone. Molly and Jo shared the bucket seat and I used them as my seat... with my personal space and boundary issues: legs were going numb, my knees were crammed up and rubbed raw as I used the glove compartment to find some balance. I preferred to sit up, but Jimmy- our excellent driver- kept having me to sit back so he could see the mirrors (kinda important). Considering our lack of sleep and poor diet (breakfast was great, but a Pepsi and ice cream for lunch and dinner...) it did not take much to get me laughing. Just being in that position was enough to get me going...
Wish you could have been there
Friday, April 2, 2010
Flexible people don't get bent out of shape...
I like to think of myself as flexible, you know- able to go with the flow. But that is not always the case, you see, God has really been working on me in this area. I'd like to share two examples.
Last weekend was our amazing, annual Campus Harvest conference in Durham. I'd planned to spend some quality time with my mom when it was through sense she lives out that way. I'd been home with her for about 20 minutes when I got a call from a fellow campus minister hoping I was still nearby Durham to get his computer and bring it back with me. So I made arrangements,making sure someone would be at the church when I got out there. I was able to spend a little while longer with my mom... and got a call from another fellow employee who needed me to get the breast milk she'd left at the church... now... granted I was glad to help out some friends... my visit with mom was shot and the activities greatly increased my patience. I got back into greenville with the goods, and then distributed them. I was wiped out by the time I got home. Did I mention that I rode in the car for 2 hours with someone's breast milk... I don't care who you are, that's funny.
Today I arranged for a friend to watch Fuffle (my beloved cat-child) while I visited Jenn Campbell in Havelock. I should specify that my kitty is not the typical cat you can leave a bowl of food out for and leave for days. Mostly becasue he'll eat it all, make himself sick, and then be hungry until I get back. So I got my spare key to Karen and headed to see my friend. Jenn and I were at the beach getting our tan on when I got the call that Karen had gotten the key stuck in the door. That is not what I was hoping for, but we tried several avenues... oh, say, about 100 avenues to try and make it work so I could stay the weekend with Jenn and my cat would be taken care of. The locksmith wasn't available until 8pm, so Jenn and I had a little more time together. Upon arriving home, secretely believing I'd be able to fix the situation, I realized THE KEY WAS STUCK. The locksmith was perplexed as well, but he fixed everything. And I have to admit he was cute, which was fun. I was a bit concerned about being alone with a man in the house, so prasie God he was super professional. I don't think he loves the Lord with all his heart, so he's probably not the one. Not to mention my Dad was a locksmith at Duke University for 27 years, so I cannot even begin to start trying to imagine spending my life with a locksmith.
And here we are full circle. Maybe I need to be more flexible... maybe God wants me to spend the rest of my life with a locksmith.... hahah
Happy Easter everyone!
Last weekend was our amazing, annual Campus Harvest conference in Durham. I'd planned to spend some quality time with my mom when it was through sense she lives out that way. I'd been home with her for about 20 minutes when I got a call from a fellow campus minister hoping I was still nearby Durham to get his computer and bring it back with me. So I made arrangements,making sure someone would be at the church when I got out there. I was able to spend a little while longer with my mom... and got a call from another fellow employee who needed me to get the breast milk she'd left at the church... now... granted I was glad to help out some friends... my visit with mom was shot and the activities greatly increased my patience. I got back into greenville with the goods, and then distributed them. I was wiped out by the time I got home. Did I mention that I rode in the car for 2 hours with someone's breast milk... I don't care who you are, that's funny.
Today I arranged for a friend to watch Fuffle (my beloved cat-child) while I visited Jenn Campbell in Havelock. I should specify that my kitty is not the typical cat you can leave a bowl of food out for and leave for days. Mostly becasue he'll eat it all, make himself sick, and then be hungry until I get back. So I got my spare key to Karen and headed to see my friend. Jenn and I were at the beach getting our tan on when I got the call that Karen had gotten the key stuck in the door. That is not what I was hoping for, but we tried several avenues... oh, say, about 100 avenues to try and make it work so I could stay the weekend with Jenn and my cat would be taken care of. The locksmith wasn't available until 8pm, so Jenn and I had a little more time together. Upon arriving home, secretely believing I'd be able to fix the situation, I realized THE KEY WAS STUCK. The locksmith was perplexed as well, but he fixed everything. And I have to admit he was cute, which was fun. I was a bit concerned about being alone with a man in the house, so prasie God he was super professional. I don't think he loves the Lord with all his heart, so he's probably not the one. Not to mention my Dad was a locksmith at Duke University for 27 years, so I cannot even begin to start trying to imagine spending my life with a locksmith.
And here we are full circle. Maybe I need to be more flexible... maybe God wants me to spend the rest of my life with a locksmith.... hahah
Happy Easter everyone!
Monday, March 15, 2010
God is always working it out!
Ok, so I am just going to be completely transparent. I overwithdrew my bank account last week. Luckily, I am taking and implementing Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace class... so I had cash on hand. I took some cash to the bank and could have never imagined or planned the events which took place. BUT my Heavenly Father who adores me, who knows what I need and when I need it... orchastrated something pretty spectacular!
The sweet lil lady behind the desk asked how my day was going and I couldn't help but mention my regrets for overwithdrawing my account. {Dave Ramsey would have preferred for me to apologize. And now that I think about it, I chose to go in the bank to own up to my behavior, versus taking the easy way out and using the drive-thru window.} She asked if I was interested in an "overwithdrawal protection" plan or something along those lines, I said, "Yes". So she sent me into one of those small rooms for a lady to tell me about my options.
Well, about 40 minutes later, I was walking outta that office on cloud 9!
At first I was on the defense in case she tried selling me something- ya know. Then I was getting lost and confused trying to keep up with what each option offered! I side stepped all of that when I told her I'd be back to set up a savings account (which would provide a safety net in case overwithdrawal happens- which it will not) as soon as my tax refund comes. While this sweet woman was informing me about options, she asked where I work. I let her know I am a campus minister at ECU... but am still raising support. So we got to talking. There were several moments when I wondered if I was keeping her from doing something work related... but was grateful for her time! Once the phone rang, I asked if she needed to take it- but she didn't. Her son called her cell, and she'd forgotten to turn off the ringer. I think the ringer was that "Boom boom clap" song, and I said, "go ahead girl"... kinda forgot where I was. I had obviously gotten quite comfortable. She'd mentioned church, so I asked where she goes. To make a long story short, I am going to church with her this Sunday so she can introduce me to her pastor and other folks. She's been going there her entire life. She told me several testimonies of missionaries who have dropped almost everything to follow Christ's call on their lives! THIS IS WHEN I REALIZED GOD USED MY OVERWIHDRAWN BANK ACCOUNT TO POSITION ME FOR A HUGE BLESSING OF ENCOURAGEMENT. He knew I needed to hear these testiments of His faithfulness. Six years ago her church gave $6,000 to missionaries. Last year they gave $40,000. She and I were both getting "goose bumps" as we told about God's glory!
Whewy am I glad I didn't go through the drive-thru window!
Oh... and I fogot, the bank gave me back $8 of the $35 penalty. Pretty cool stuff!
The sweet lil lady behind the desk asked how my day was going and I couldn't help but mention my regrets for overwithdrawing my account. {Dave Ramsey would have preferred for me to apologize. And now that I think about it, I chose to go in the bank to own up to my behavior, versus taking the easy way out and using the drive-thru window.} She asked if I was interested in an "overwithdrawal protection" plan or something along those lines, I said, "Yes". So she sent me into one of those small rooms for a lady to tell me about my options.
Well, about 40 minutes later, I was walking outta that office on cloud 9!
At first I was on the defense in case she tried selling me something- ya know. Then I was getting lost and confused trying to keep up with what each option offered! I side stepped all of that when I told her I'd be back to set up a savings account (which would provide a safety net in case overwithdrawal happens- which it will not) as soon as my tax refund comes. While this sweet woman was informing me about options, she asked where I work. I let her know I am a campus minister at ECU... but am still raising support. So we got to talking. There were several moments when I wondered if I was keeping her from doing something work related... but was grateful for her time! Once the phone rang, I asked if she needed to take it- but she didn't. Her son called her cell, and she'd forgotten to turn off the ringer. I think the ringer was that "Boom boom clap" song, and I said, "go ahead girl"... kinda forgot where I was. I had obviously gotten quite comfortable. She'd mentioned church, so I asked where she goes. To make a long story short, I am going to church with her this Sunday so she can introduce me to her pastor and other folks. She's been going there her entire life. She told me several testimonies of missionaries who have dropped almost everything to follow Christ's call on their lives! THIS IS WHEN I REALIZED GOD USED MY OVERWIHDRAWN BANK ACCOUNT TO POSITION ME FOR A HUGE BLESSING OF ENCOURAGEMENT. He knew I needed to hear these testiments of His faithfulness. Six years ago her church gave $6,000 to missionaries. Last year they gave $40,000. She and I were both getting "goose bumps" as we told about God's glory!
Whewy am I glad I didn't go through the drive-thru window!
Oh... and I fogot, the bank gave me back $8 of the $35 penalty. Pretty cool stuff!
Friday, March 12, 2010
Can't keep stuff this good to myself
I want to share the most recent adventure that raising support (in order to be a campus missionary at East Caolina University) has taken me on! I had the honor of attending a church function in Kinston a couple days ago and have been bursting at the seams to tell someone about the excellent events which occured... so I've been prompted to blog!
Before I even got out of my car, I saw an elderly woman slam into another car. I fear she hadn't bothered to check her mirrors. I knew it couldn't get much worse... well, I thought it couldn't.
Most everyone knew one another so I just tried following suit, which meant getting my sweet tea, bowl of salad, and dessert before taking my seat... Then a Pastor stood behind the podium to open the meeting and welcome everyone. He mentioned that we should be trained for the retirement community, now that we've learned to get dessert first, and then something about how when we're really old we'll eat our dessert first becasue we may not have room for anything else. Come on people, help me out here! I was dying inside but had to keep cool because I didn't know anybody well enough to giggle with. Then he prayed for our meal and we all went to get our bowl of chilli.
When it came time for someone to present the "Good neighbor of the month" award, a very precious, aged fella' (who may have had his dessert for lunch :-) got behind the podium. He began reading from a sheet, stumbled a bit, then put his glasses on. The glasses did not help much, they seemed to be a bother as he kept hving to push them up his nose. That's about the time I realized the frame of his glasses were missing an arm- or whatever you call that thing that sits on the ear. This just tickled me pink and reminded me of where I was. You see, I have been in the process of raising support well over a year and have recently decided that I will embrace each moment instead of trying to hurry it along. God surely does not go by my time table.
As people were leaving I went to speak with a woman I recognized. We got into a pleasant conversation. I thought I noticed her looking at my scarf, and in preparation to respond to her compliment, I put my hand on my abdomin. Well it turns out she was looking at my belly... and asked, "When are you expecting?" Oh my, I just burst into laughter (something I had been waiting to do for quite some time now) and said, "Oh no, I am not pregnant..." Well of course she felt horrible for calling me "fat" but I continued to laugh in hopes she would not feel bad. Another effort of mine to try and save her from feeling bad was to say, "I would like to be..." So she then askes, "How long have you two been together?" I burst into more laughter and wasn't sure how much worse it could get... luckily we just laughed it off. I told her, "I did eat my whole bowl of chilli" and maybe that was it!
Before I even got out of my car, I saw an elderly woman slam into another car. I fear she hadn't bothered to check her mirrors. I knew it couldn't get much worse... well, I thought it couldn't.
Most everyone knew one another so I just tried following suit, which meant getting my sweet tea, bowl of salad, and dessert before taking my seat... Then a Pastor stood behind the podium to open the meeting and welcome everyone. He mentioned that we should be trained for the retirement community, now that we've learned to get dessert first, and then something about how when we're really old we'll eat our dessert first becasue we may not have room for anything else. Come on people, help me out here! I was dying inside but had to keep cool because I didn't know anybody well enough to giggle with. Then he prayed for our meal and we all went to get our bowl of chilli.
When it came time for someone to present the "Good neighbor of the month" award, a very precious, aged fella' (who may have had his dessert for lunch :-) got behind the podium. He began reading from a sheet, stumbled a bit, then put his glasses on. The glasses did not help much, they seemed to be a bother as he kept hving to push them up his nose. That's about the time I realized the frame of his glasses were missing an arm- or whatever you call that thing that sits on the ear. This just tickled me pink and reminded me of where I was. You see, I have been in the process of raising support well over a year and have recently decided that I will embrace each moment instead of trying to hurry it along. God surely does not go by my time table.
As people were leaving I went to speak with a woman I recognized. We got into a pleasant conversation. I thought I noticed her looking at my scarf, and in preparation to respond to her compliment, I put my hand on my abdomin. Well it turns out she was looking at my belly... and asked, "When are you expecting?" Oh my, I just burst into laughter (something I had been waiting to do for quite some time now) and said, "Oh no, I am not pregnant..." Well of course she felt horrible for calling me "fat" but I continued to laugh in hopes she would not feel bad. Another effort of mine to try and save her from feeling bad was to say, "I would like to be..." So she then askes, "How long have you two been together?" I burst into more laughter and wasn't sure how much worse it could get... luckily we just laughed it off. I told her, "I did eat my whole bowl of chilli" and maybe that was it!
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