If my crazy facebook posts are a little too much for you and you get tired of the journaling of my experiences of this reality I call life, you may want to just keep scrolling. This may turn out to be a long one and just really wear on you.
It’s going to be one that if a kid was writing this as an assignment, they would be asking “where do I begin?” because there are so many beginnings. You might want to say ,”start at the beginning,” but I really don’t know where that is so here I go. Fours things I know: God is real! God has a voice he speaks to me in! God Listens! God puts people in your life that you need! God has a sense of humor and he is having a great time watching my comedy club of life today!
This morning I woke up and looked out and there was a peaceful fog surrounding the farm. Excited to see this I jumped out of bed and hurried to get dressed because I wanted to get some photos of the fog resting in different locations. Ok That’s a lie. I laid in bed and looked slumberly at the fog and thought that it would look good in some pictures but just didn’t want to exert the energy. Tuned into my favorite Saturday program, The Today Show, (I know right) and it was finishing the morning. You just never know on a Saturday how long it’s going to be. I get on up and Lewis is getting around and asks his usual question, “What are you going to do today?” I mean approximately 34 years x 52 Saturdays not counting days I’m off for breaks from school, he’s pretty predictable. “What are you going to do today?” Just like when he comes in for lunch or supper he asks, “you got a good dinner cooked?” Let’s do that approximately 34 x 365 days and twice a day when I’m off for breaks. Ok enough of that. What am I going to do? Well I’m going to try to clean this house but first, I’m going to run over to the peaches and get some pictures. (Didn’t mention the fog influence because he might have had some insight) Before that can happen, I must fall into my normal routine of morning. One thing I do before I get dressed is I weigh myself. OK I’m a little predictable myself. Up a little on the scale. Hmmm Really need to watch what I eat today. Silent thought prayer. “Lord help me not to eat anything I shouldn’t. I have already bought a dress for Torrie’s wedding and if I don’t quit eating I’m not going to get in it. Amen” Fantastic prayer don’t you think? The Lord will Work. Trust me! And I have Asthma!
I get on my lazy clothes, which by the way, the elastic has come out of my pants and they are constantly needing pulled up but they don’t bind so perfect for taking pictures except that you have to pull them up every five steps. In fact earlier in the week Lewis asked me “do those pants make good shoes?” as they had slipped so far that with my steps they had curled around my feet. It’s like they have become a onesie only with my toes poking out. (Keep this in mind.) The Lord will Work. And I have Asthma.
I burst out the door to get the fantabulous pictures that were awaiting me. Should I take my Acadia, the FOUR WHEEL DRIVE TRUCK, or the KUBOTA? Hmm? That little voice-The voice that speaks to me to help me make decisions- The Lord speaks to me, “you should take the truck or the Kubota,”
“But the truck smells and I don’t like to drive it and it’s a little chilly for the Kubota so I think I’ll take the Acadia.” the better decision I think. The Lord will work! And I have Asthma.
Driving down the driveway, you can see how beautiful the spider webs look in the fog. “There’s you a picture,” The Lord’s voice in my head.
“ I don’t have time to get that picture. I’ll get it later. I’ve got to get to the peaches and besides, that picture will be there the next fog. The peaches are in a stage they will only be in today. I’ve got to hurry to get the fog rising in the orchard.” I keep driving. The Lord will Work! And I have Asthma!
I take off to the peaches, and I get over on the road looking out where we call Guymon’s (close to Rebecca’s for you Oniaites) and the fog is breathtaking, rising out of the ravine and the cattle walking in its midst is a marvelous site. I stop and glance and I hear, “There’s your picture. Take the time to drive over there and get that picture.” There were beautiful black heifers walking on top of the ridge with the rising fog in the background. It was absolutely gorgeous.
“Lord, I don’t have time to go over to take that picture. I’ve got to get over to the peaches. That fog is going to be beautiful rising in there and you know those heifers won’t be there when I get over there.” Big Mistake- Telling God what he knew as if he needed my advice. I take a distant shot and hop back in. The Lord will Work. And I have Asthma!
Excited for the picture that awaits me, I am probably driving a little faster than you should for a county road. I get over to the orchard and what do I see? No fog. Zip! No sign! Nada! Not a trace of fog in sight! Deflated and disappointed is what is going on in my head at this point. The orchard is too high to have fog rising at this time. I don’t really know if it ever has fog. It was just something I imagined that would exist and would be so beautiful. It’s a disappointing sight which could have all been avoided, probably, if I would have mentioned fog in the peaches when I first told him about what I was going to do. But I pull on in. As I drive, I feel the Acadia is slipping. I better back up before I get stuck. I’m backing and now there is no movement backward so I try to go forward. I am stuck. This is not the first time this has happened nor is it the first time this week I have done something not so intelligent. The Lord is Working! And I have Asthma!
I get out and decide I’ll walk around the orchard and take a few pictures of what is left of blossoming trees. The leaves have really came on and have taken over so there is more green than pink. But it is still beautiful. I walk the perimeter of the orchard and get some nice shots. Remember I have on the pants that fall every five steps. I have my phone and my big camera trying to get some super pictures. Every few steps I tug on the pants. They are slowly becoming shoes. Step step step step step, take a picture, juggle the phone and big camera, tug on the pants, and continue.
Finally, I get back to my car and try to move it. Nope it ain’t budging! Not one little inch. I decide it’s time to start walking home to get on with the day. I’m unclear which way I should go. Do I head through the woods which would be the shortest but also the roughest? Do I turn right and head the way I came? Or do I turn left and head off the hill through the blueberries. I decide to go back the way I came. I really don’t know how far it is. It’s a least a couple of miles with a few hills to walk. Remember I weighed a little more than I wanted to and I whispered that prayer. Oh Yeah! I don’t have an inhaler on me so that’s a little bit of concern because I have had a few struggles lately with all the pollen. The Lord will work! And I have Asthma!
Before I started towards home, I knew my church family was on a working for Jesus day. I sent a little text to my good friend Suellen that said. “Hey if you really want to work for Jesus today, I’m stuck at the peaches and someone could come pull me out. I’m not telling Lewis because I’ve already had one series of misfortunate events this week.” I just sent it to be funny because they were at the church and there is ABSOLUTELY no service at the church! The Lord will work! And I have Asthma!
I continue my walk home pulling up my pants every five steps, juggling my phone for instant pictures, carrying my big camera around my neck, oh yeah and for some reason I thought it would be a good idea to bring along my coffee cup out of my car to also carry and sip as I walk. Step step step step step, pull up pants. There’s a neat picture, snap it with the phone, snap it with the big camera, juggle the coffee cup, spill coffee, tug the pants again, get the pants out from under my feet, move on. Step step step step step- pull up the pants. It’s almost a lather rinse repeat kind of experience. I get a text from my friend, Robin, who has had a crazy fun morning as well and I share with her that I’m having the same kind of morning and I’ll tell her about it later. Step step step step step, pull up pants, take some videos of the sound of the birds and the waterfalls, take some of the braying donkey for the 4 millionth time, keep walking pulling up my pants, juggling the phone and the coffee cup. Thoughts run through my mind of just leaving the coffee cup behind because it is now such a burden in the routine of taking pictures and pulling up my pants, but I look around and see litter everywhere so I carry it on. The Lord will Work! And I have Asthma!
As I keep walking I get a text from Taylor who is at work. “What are you doing today?”
“Currently, I’m walking home from the peach orchard because I got stuck.”
“Do you have your inhaler?”
“No, I’m walking slow and haven’t eaten carbs. It makes it worse.” In my mind, I’m starting to have concerns of an asthma problem but no need to alarm anyone.
“We are going to tie one around your neck.” The Lord will work! And I have Asthma!
I keep walking laughing at all my craziness. Reflecting on if I had just listened to that voice- The Lord’s Voice- telling me what to do I wouldn’t be in quite this predicament. I was clearly told to either take the four wheel drive truck or the kubota, both of which would have prevented being stuck. I was clearly shown a perfect picture to take on my way to the peaches, but I knew better and kept driving. I did say a prayer for his help with my eating which is a direct connection to my weight which is a direct connection to exercise. The Lord is seeing to it that something gets done about that number I don’t know whether it is by smart eating or exercising. God is listening and answering even about something like my weight. Oh and how beautiful the morning is on the April morning in the community of Onia. If I hadn’t got to take this walk, I would have missed the sounds of the birds, the sounds of the distant waterfall in the ravine, the braying of the donkey; I may not have experienced the soothing sight of the fog still lifting in the pasture, the peacefulness of a still morning had I not started this adventure. God’s work is so amazing. But my story doesn’t end there. The Lord is Working! And I have Asthma!
I keep walking toward home and am starting to dread the walk up the long hill to my house. I’ve done ok so far. No problems breathing. Step by step I’m doing fine but that hill up to the house. It will do a number on my asthma. I’m dreading it! The Lord will Work Again! And I have Asthma!
I decide I will give Robin a clue to my crazy morning before I relay my long story to her, so I record the sounds of my steps hitting the rocky road to make her curious and send her the video. (She gets a kick out of my crazy life.) The Lord will Work! And I have Asthma.
As I walk, I look up and I see a familiar white chevy heading my way. It’s my church family! I am tickled to see them. They had gotten my text. Melissa tells me they are here to rescue me. When I hop in the truck laughing at my crazy antics, Suellen speaks up and says, “I’m surprised that I got the text. I was already at the church and I never have service and I never get a text there.” They go on to say they really didn’t know which way to go to come get me. They are Oniaites and know I had several choices I could have taken. They delivered me safely home. When I looked back at my phone, the video I meant to send to Robin had gone to Suellen. I don’t think she had gotten it before they had set off to come get me, but I found it a little reassuring that God allowed me to make that mistake so they could get me before I had to walk that long hill that I’m sure would have caused me breathing troubles. The video of the steps would have told them where I was by the surroundings. The Lord was Working! And I have Asthma!
I hope you see that I have had some truths proven to me. God is real! We can see that in his creation and the beauty. Take time to enjoy it. Even if things are piling up. Slow down and enjoy the good things God has given us. God has a voice! God speaks to all of us. Some people may refer to it as their conscience and I guess scientifically it is a conscience, but for me it’s God suggesting to me the best decisions to make. I have the free choice not to listen and sometimes when I don’t listen- I make room for mistakes, heartbreak, or in this case comedy. God listens to prayers. I have prayed for many things this week not the least is for a little peace and calm as well as my eating and weight. God was answering my call. God puts people in your life you need! My family, my school family and my church family are important to making my days complete. I hate to think of the asthma attack I might have had walking up that hill to my house. I hate to think of the headache that would have resulted from not being able to breathe properly. I am thankful to my church family for helping me. The people in my life make my life whole. And last, if you can’t laugh at this one piece of craziness of my life, and if you can’t know that God was enjoying every bit of my crazy choices you need to check your funny. God allows us experiences to allow us to reflect and and smile upon and I just know in my heart that he had a good time watching me struggle and laugh at my on self today. The Lord will work! The Lord is Working! The Lord was Working! And I didn’t have an Asthma Attack Today.
PS- None of my walking counts today because I didn’t put on my watch that tracks my steps!
