It’s a Good Thing We Don’t Have a Dog…

I woke up Saturday morning to the soft glow of sunlight peeking through a crack in the heavy curtains of our bedroom. All was well. The boys were still sleeping and I was able to sit down with my Bible for a few moments of quiet before Ivan broke the silence with cries of hunger. Once fed he was content to sit quietly in the boppy while I got ready to go grocery shopping.

By 7:00 I was in the Wal-Mart parking lot and absolutely excited that I had made it there before the Saturday rush. I got my cartload of supplies and hurried back to the house to get ready for Choir rehearsal. I decided to take Ivan with me because Kris had a lot he wanted to accomplish and dividing the boys up makes it easier.

Choir rehearsal went great. I was a little late but still in time to enjoy the worship and testimony of our choir. I had a wonderful time. Ivan did too…he was passed around the alto section and enjoyed the attention immensely.

I got home in time to eat lunch and get ready to go to a birthday party for Joey, the little boy I used to baby-sit. He turned one on the 20th of February so we took a gift and our boys and joined them for dinner, cake and ice cream. It was a nice afternoon but boy were we tired after our early morning and active day.

Kris and I got to bed at a reasonable time after taking care of the boys and I was looking forward to a good Sunday morning service.

Sunday morning…the scene changed to one of chaos. Ivan woke up at 5:00. Thirty minutes before my alarm would have gone off. This turned out to be a good thing. I fed him and then sat down to read my Bible after he lay back down. I read the Psalms and paid special attention to David’s prayers for protection from his enemies and the downfall of those who come against the Lord’s anointed. I had time to pray and really connect before getting my shower. I got dressed and noticed that I had a run in my panty hose…no matter…I planned to wear slacks anyway. I made sure Kris was awake and then ran downstairs to fry up ground beef which would go in the chili I was planning for lunch. My kitchen was a mess because of my busy Saturday and I had no time to clean it but the mess slowed me down in my effort to prepare lunch. Owen woke up during this process and he kept me busy while I fried the meat, spiced the sauce and added the beans. The beef splattered grease on my shirt so I knew I would have to change…oh well, this isn’t a big deal. I got Owen breakfast and hurried back upstairs to dry my hair, put in my contacts, get clothes for the boys and prepare Ivan’s bottle. I forgot something downstairs so as Kris was getting Owen ready I ran back down to get it…but I couldn’t find it. Had I taken it upstairs earlier? Up and down I went looking and looking, finally locating the lost item and proceeding with the morning’s adventures. I was beginning to get frustrated with how long everything seemed to be taking and I could feel Kris getting frustrated too. Of course I felt like he was frustrated with me whether he was or not. As I dried and curled my hair…just a little…he said “how soon will you be ready?” I simply dropped the noncommittal answer “I don’t know” and left it at that. I found another shirt to wear, a jacket to put over it. I put my contacts in then ran to get the sleeping baby in order to get him ready. I sat down on the floor and remembered I hadn’t gotten his bottle ready so I ran to take care of that. Ivan cried because he was rudely awakened and then promptly abandoned. I finally sat down on the floor with him to change his diaper and put his clean clothes on, when the last straw was placed very carefully on the top of the stack. In the few seconds of freedom from the restraints of his diaper Ivan anointed me and my slacks. I couldn’t believe it. I had nothing else to wear! I tried getting sympathy from Kris by declaring my predicament but he simply said…”well, I guess you’ll have to stay home.” Was that payback for the “I don’t know” earlier? I’ll never know. Of course I couldn’t stay home. Not only was I committed to singing in the choir, it was also my Sunday to check kids in for the nursery. I humbled myself and put my black skirt on, deciding that a little run in my pantyhose was not worth the tears that were quickly finding their way to my cheeks. Why was this happening? I know there’s an enemy, but hadn’t I just prayed that God put him in his place just two hours earlier. Had my protection already rubbed off? Was Ivan’s anointing all I could expect for the day? No, I decided that Satan didn’t want me to go to church and that I would go if for no other reason…than to spite him. On our way to the church we waited at the intersection at Gallatin road as an Ambulance drove by with siren wailing. It was a little reminder that our hectic morning wasn’t as bad as it could be and we certainly have a lot to be thankful for. We got to church two minutes before 8:00 and as we got out of the car Kris rolled his eyes and said…”I left my lesson notes at home on the printer.” Kris teaches our Sunday school class so it’s sort of important that he has his notes. At this point I really didn’t expect things to start going well so I just shrugged my shoulders and said…”maybe we could do an illustrated lesson on how to get ready and out the door efficiently on Sunday mornings.” Neither of us laughed…it really wasn’t that funny. Later I thought to myself…”it’s a good thing we don’t have a dog…I’m pretty sure we would have run over it this morning.”

Once inside the building it was as if everything turned around. I got to my post, dropped off my boys and enjoyed my time with kids and parents at the nursery gate. Before going to class I had to feed Ivan so I stopped in at the infant room and closed myself in the dimly lit room to hold my baby. I like to sing to my boys and I like to sing scripture especially. There is a song that my mother used to sing from Psalm 34 and it seemed to be prevalent in my mind as I rocked Ivan. “I will bless the Lord at all times, His praise shall continually be in my mouth. My soul shall make her boast in the Lord, the humble shall hear thereof and be glad. O Magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt His name together. I sought the Lord and He heard me and delivered me from all my fears.” I love those words and as I sang them out loud I confessed their truth in my spirit. Yes, no matter what…I will bless the Lord AT ALL TIMES. His praise shall CONTINUALLY be in my mouth. My soul shall boast of nothing but the Lord and His goodness and how sweet to think that the humble shall hear my praise and be glad with me. I couldn’t wait to get to choir. I knew God was going to show up.

Kris had spent enough time studying his lesson to teach it without any trouble at all. I was impressed with his ability to remember his scripture references and other details.

After Sunday school, the choir assembled and began praying…I was expecting good things and tried very hard to keep my focus and pray without thinking about my morning, the now visible run in my pantyhose or anything else outside of preparing the congregation for worship and the presentation of the Word. Pastor Davis approached the pulpit before the service started and began encouraging the new Christians to go upstairs for water baptism. As he started to read from the Psalms, I thought, “wouldn’t it be neat if he read Psalm 34.” Instead he read a verse from Psalm 63…then as if God were teasing me…Pastor closed with the very words I had sung to Ivan…Psalm 34…”O Magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt his name together.” I said each word with him as tears once again fell onto my cheeks. This time it was with joy that I wiped them away and as the choir stood to sing I felt a little taller because I knew my Father was listening. He truly was our audience as we lifted our praise and He did “show up”, and He did bless our service.