Unexpected Day
I was planning on Tuesday not being a very good day. Brent was leaving and I knew neither of us would go to bed early not sleep much. I knew I would be tired from not sleeping and getting up at 4:00am when Brent's alarm clock went off. I knew the girls would argue from the anxiety of daddy being gone. I was expecting a long, hard day on Tuesday.
However, Tuesday turned out to be nothing like I had expected! The alarm did go off at 4:00 as planned, Brent and Ben did leave as planned and that's about as far as the planning went. I couldn't really go back to sleep, but about the time I was just falling asleep, the phone buzzed. I knew it wasn't a text message and that Brent was calling. It was 6:00. On the phone he told me being rushed the day before meant he had accidently left Ben's yellow fever card on the printer at church. This card had to go to Uganda. A copy would not do. There were 2 options. One, Brent and Philip could drive back to the house, to the church, and then just meet the team in Atlanta - the only catch paying for parking for 12 days at an airport. This is not budget friendly for anybody. Or option 2 - the girls and I could meet the van. I liked option 2. So we hung up and I woke up Breanna and prayed during my shower that God would wake Elizabeth up. You never know if you will meet Jekeyll or Hyde in the mornings with that one. I needed nice, cooperative Elizabeth that day. So after my shower I stood at the door and very quietly in a sing-song voice told her it was time to get up and we had to meet daddy. That was the kicker, meeting daddy equals nice Elizebeth. (That and the promise of McDonald's for breakfast)
We made it in the car and to the church before 7:00 and we hit the road.
We were barely on interstate when I realized, we were totally not going to meet the van before they were finished with breakfast at their appointed stop in Oxford. My plan was to meet them and then do a little summer shopping with the girls for the day.
Another phone call changed those plans again! Instead, we would pick Brent up and try to meet up with the team or just go all the way to the airport. So it was off to the airport. On the way there, I decided it would be fun for us to tour the Coca-Cola company and started trying to figure out the rest of the day.
It was raining and we missed the turn to the airport. HA! Brent and I having been turning around on road trips since our first date, so this was no surprise!
A quick drop off and the girls and I were head to Atlanta for the day. We were barely out of the airport before mean words were said from one girl to the other. I had forgotten to get my directions up and going before leaving the airport and there isn't really convenient place to pull over in Atlanta, I really needed the restroom, and we had to get gas and find bank. The unnecessary rudeness apparently made me lose my head and it was quiet in the backseat. I pulled off interstate and pulled back on - not a good stop. Some how we found ourselves in am office parking lot in Centinneal Park. I practically dared the security man to come over and ask me why I was parked there. After entering many places in Google maps, I just decided to make a decision and go with it. We were headed to the bank first and hoped to find gas along the way. We found gas for $2.79 and Elizabeth needed the facilities as well. As luck would have it, BOTH bathrooms were out of order. My guess is the guy didn't want the 25 customers at the food truck parked outside his gas station to be using his facilities. I was so annoyed. I wanted to leave and not get gas, but who would I be proving a point to? Especially when we could possibly run out of gas! While paying for gas I asked if there was a fast food restaurant close by for Elizabeth. He told me there was a subway up the road. Perfect! We turned right and drove slowly down the road. All the restaurants were built into nice brick buildings. I found a spot to park and told the girls that this day was so unexpected and we were having an adventure. They totally bought it. Apparently I bought into too! Umbrella in tow, we quickly started down the sidewalk before an accident happened. Once while in Boston, I learned there is no place to park your car. In Atlanta, there is no place to potty. Literally went into 3 restaurants with no bathroom. I saw a fitness place upstairs near Jimmy Johns and decided they had to have a bathroom and we were going to use it. But instead of the stairs to the fitness place, we walked into the Trading Post. I asked the man behind the counter if he knew of a bathroom she could use. The wonderful man, had some compassion (or grandkids) and gave us his pass to get through the locked door into some building that had very nice restrooms. Neither of us have ever been so glad to find a restroom! If you are in Atlanta and need a friend, stop by the trading post and you will have one!
We headed back to the car and decided to drive the 4 minutes to bank instead of walking 8 minutes. This turned out to be a good idea, even though the bank did not have a drive thru and I couldn't find a place to park. Seriously. We just headed on to the next bank location, which thankfully was next door to Panera and we could have lunch! How fortunate.
After lunch we finally headed to the Coca-Cola company. We parked for $10 and set out on our next adventure. We had the best time at the museum. I thought the girls might be a little bored, but they loved it. Of course, Inca Kola was on the list to "test" out. Several times of course, with very full glasses! And we had coke from Uganda and of course the worst of the worst - the Beverly - from Italy.
We spent way too much time there the gift shop was a little overwhelming for one girl and she wasn't sure she was happy with her souviner. But she lived.
I wanted to treat the girls to Johnny Rockets, but we spent a little long in the museum and the clouds were starting to rain, so I decided it was time to head home. We left and managed to drive awhile before picking up supper. The rest of the trip was quiet nice and we made home. It ended in tears and frustration though because of being over-tired and needing a snack.
The week has been like that all along. Full of unexpected things and frustrations. Today was a very mild, possibly because I have a sinus infection and my ears are so stopped up, I have been trying to make sure I talk quietly because I can't hear myself very well.
We were driving to town today for a photoshoot with some friends, I thought about the week. It was good and bad. I didn't really want the bad to be remembered. So many variables were brought into the emotions of this week. It seemed like an eternity and yet, very very quick. I thought about praying for the girls to forget the bad and just remember the good. But then I wondered why?
Tuesday started out great until mommy lost her head. But in the end the girls left saying it was the most unepected day, but the best day. And it really was. Despite the rudeness in the mid-morning and frustration/overly tiredness at the end of the day, it was the best day. And I had planned for the day to be terrible.
I do want the girls to remember the good and the fun of growing up more than they do the bad, but I want them to remember that God can take the bad and still redeem it. He redeemed the day on Tuesday. You have to push through the bad and God redeems it out good in the end, if you don't lose your mind and let Him. I want them to know that God redeems everything. That He give us days of unexpected and adventure in place of what we think will be bad and mundane. That He can always change it.
One of their favorite songs is by MercyMe, Even if. They love it and sing it out loud (ok. they sing every song outlaud) but I'm so glad they are learning this one. It teaches, God is able and can, but even if He doesn't, they can still trust Him because He is good.
Our Tuesday was unepected and perhaps a series of fortunate events that started when Brent forgot a little yellow card on a printer. But even if he hadn't forgotten and we had stayed home all day Tuesday, God would still be good. He would redeem a different way. Sometimes we don't see the way of redemption and we certainly don't understand why we can't see it. It seems so simple, God is the God of the impossible, so why doesn't He fix it and redeem it all now and make the earth good and life good and not so hard again. I don't know. Those are mysteries that are left in heaven and apparently not for us to understand just yet. That sentence is so much easier to write than to live. Living in the days and situations that do not seem to be redeemed yet are really awful and cause heartache that can be unbearable at times.
I think those are circumstance for our Alabaster Boxes. Where we place all the things we don't understand in a box and turn it to praise. Praise that God is God. That He is love and He is here with us. We don't understand the cost of the praise that some give and they don't understand ours. We never know what someone has lived through or is living with right now. We just know that we take our most valuable gift, our life, and we break it at the feet of Jesus like Mary did, praising Him for redeeming all her bad and bringing her to life. We break our lives at His feet knowing that we are telling Him we fully trust Him with our whole heart. Mary busted her Alabaster jar knowing full well that was her future, her security, her life. But she had found someone worthy of it. It was her praise and her thanks for redemption.
We break our jars, our future, our security, our lives that no one can understand why we would choose to praise, but we know, our God redeems it all. Whether we live it, like Mary did when she was set free from her demons or whether we will see it when we enter Heaven.
Words are much easier spoken than lived. But maybe we live in the bad and in the good, because He redeems.
-----Marianne Colee
June 3, 2017.
However, Tuesday turned out to be nothing like I had expected! The alarm did go off at 4:00 as planned, Brent and Ben did leave as planned and that's about as far as the planning went. I couldn't really go back to sleep, but about the time I was just falling asleep, the phone buzzed. I knew it wasn't a text message and that Brent was calling. It was 6:00. On the phone he told me being rushed the day before meant he had accidently left Ben's yellow fever card on the printer at church. This card had to go to Uganda. A copy would not do. There were 2 options. One, Brent and Philip could drive back to the house, to the church, and then just meet the team in Atlanta - the only catch paying for parking for 12 days at an airport. This is not budget friendly for anybody. Or option 2 - the girls and I could meet the van. I liked option 2. So we hung up and I woke up Breanna and prayed during my shower that God would wake Elizabeth up. You never know if you will meet Jekeyll or Hyde in the mornings with that one. I needed nice, cooperative Elizabeth that day. So after my shower I stood at the door and very quietly in a sing-song voice told her it was time to get up and we had to meet daddy. That was the kicker, meeting daddy equals nice Elizebeth. (That and the promise of McDonald's for breakfast)
We made it in the car and to the church before 7:00 and we hit the road.
We were barely on interstate when I realized, we were totally not going to meet the van before they were finished with breakfast at their appointed stop in Oxford. My plan was to meet them and then do a little summer shopping with the girls for the day.
Another phone call changed those plans again! Instead, we would pick Brent up and try to meet up with the team or just go all the way to the airport. So it was off to the airport. On the way there, I decided it would be fun for us to tour the Coca-Cola company and started trying to figure out the rest of the day.
It was raining and we missed the turn to the airport. HA! Brent and I having been turning around on road trips since our first date, so this was no surprise!
A quick drop off and the girls and I were head to Atlanta for the day. We were barely out of the airport before mean words were said from one girl to the other. I had forgotten to get my directions up and going before leaving the airport and there isn't really convenient place to pull over in Atlanta, I really needed the restroom, and we had to get gas and find bank. The unnecessary rudeness apparently made me lose my head and it was quiet in the backseat. I pulled off interstate and pulled back on - not a good stop. Some how we found ourselves in am office parking lot in Centinneal Park. I practically dared the security man to come over and ask me why I was parked there. After entering many places in Google maps, I just decided to make a decision and go with it. We were headed to the bank first and hoped to find gas along the way. We found gas for $2.79 and Elizabeth needed the facilities as well. As luck would have it, BOTH bathrooms were out of order. My guess is the guy didn't want the 25 customers at the food truck parked outside his gas station to be using his facilities. I was so annoyed. I wanted to leave and not get gas, but who would I be proving a point to? Especially when we could possibly run out of gas! While paying for gas I asked if there was a fast food restaurant close by for Elizabeth. He told me there was a subway up the road. Perfect! We turned right and drove slowly down the road. All the restaurants were built into nice brick buildings. I found a spot to park and told the girls that this day was so unexpected and we were having an adventure. They totally bought it. Apparently I bought into too! Umbrella in tow, we quickly started down the sidewalk before an accident happened. Once while in Boston, I learned there is no place to park your car. In Atlanta, there is no place to potty. Literally went into 3 restaurants with no bathroom. I saw a fitness place upstairs near Jimmy Johns and decided they had to have a bathroom and we were going to use it. But instead of the stairs to the fitness place, we walked into the Trading Post. I asked the man behind the counter if he knew of a bathroom she could use. The wonderful man, had some compassion (or grandkids) and gave us his pass to get through the locked door into some building that had very nice restrooms. Neither of us have ever been so glad to find a restroom! If you are in Atlanta and need a friend, stop by the trading post and you will have one!
We headed back to the car and decided to drive the 4 minutes to bank instead of walking 8 minutes. This turned out to be a good idea, even though the bank did not have a drive thru and I couldn't find a place to park. Seriously. We just headed on to the next bank location, which thankfully was next door to Panera and we could have lunch! How fortunate.
After lunch we finally headed to the Coca-Cola company. We parked for $10 and set out on our next adventure. We had the best time at the museum. I thought the girls might be a little bored, but they loved it. Of course, Inca Kola was on the list to "test" out. Several times of course, with very full glasses! And we had coke from Uganda and of course the worst of the worst - the Beverly - from Italy.
We spent way too much time there the gift shop was a little overwhelming for one girl and she wasn't sure she was happy with her souviner. But she lived.
I wanted to treat the girls to Johnny Rockets, but we spent a little long in the museum and the clouds were starting to rain, so I decided it was time to head home. We left and managed to drive awhile before picking up supper. The rest of the trip was quiet nice and we made home. It ended in tears and frustration though because of being over-tired and needing a snack.
The week has been like that all along. Full of unexpected things and frustrations. Today was a very mild, possibly because I have a sinus infection and my ears are so stopped up, I have been trying to make sure I talk quietly because I can't hear myself very well.
We were driving to town today for a photoshoot with some friends, I thought about the week. It was good and bad. I didn't really want the bad to be remembered. So many variables were brought into the emotions of this week. It seemed like an eternity and yet, very very quick. I thought about praying for the girls to forget the bad and just remember the good. But then I wondered why?
Tuesday started out great until mommy lost her head. But in the end the girls left saying it was the most unepected day, but the best day. And it really was. Despite the rudeness in the mid-morning and frustration/overly tiredness at the end of the day, it was the best day. And I had planned for the day to be terrible.
I do want the girls to remember the good and the fun of growing up more than they do the bad, but I want them to remember that God can take the bad and still redeem it. He redeemed the day on Tuesday. You have to push through the bad and God redeems it out good in the end, if you don't lose your mind and let Him. I want them to know that God redeems everything. That He give us days of unexpected and adventure in place of what we think will be bad and mundane. That He can always change it.
One of their favorite songs is by MercyMe, Even if. They love it and sing it out loud (ok. they sing every song outlaud) but I'm so glad they are learning this one. It teaches, God is able and can, but even if He doesn't, they can still trust Him because He is good.
Our Tuesday was unepected and perhaps a series of fortunate events that started when Brent forgot a little yellow card on a printer. But even if he hadn't forgotten and we had stayed home all day Tuesday, God would still be good. He would redeem a different way. Sometimes we don't see the way of redemption and we certainly don't understand why we can't see it. It seems so simple, God is the God of the impossible, so why doesn't He fix it and redeem it all now and make the earth good and life good and not so hard again. I don't know. Those are mysteries that are left in heaven and apparently not for us to understand just yet. That sentence is so much easier to write than to live. Living in the days and situations that do not seem to be redeemed yet are really awful and cause heartache that can be unbearable at times.
I think those are circumstance for our Alabaster Boxes. Where we place all the things we don't understand in a box and turn it to praise. Praise that God is God. That He is love and He is here with us. We don't understand the cost of the praise that some give and they don't understand ours. We never know what someone has lived through or is living with right now. We just know that we take our most valuable gift, our life, and we break it at the feet of Jesus like Mary did, praising Him for redeeming all her bad and bringing her to life. We break our lives at His feet knowing that we are telling Him we fully trust Him with our whole heart. Mary busted her Alabaster jar knowing full well that was her future, her security, her life. But she had found someone worthy of it. It was her praise and her thanks for redemption.
We break our jars, our future, our security, our lives that no one can understand why we would choose to praise, but we know, our God redeems it all. Whether we live it, like Mary did when she was set free from her demons or whether we will see it when we enter Heaven.
Words are much easier spoken than lived. But maybe we live in the bad and in the good, because He redeems.
-----Marianne Colee
June 3, 2017.
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