For over a year now I’ve had a date on my speaking calendar that, quite honestly, I couldn’t wait to attend. I always look forward to the privilege of speaking, but was especially looking forward to this one. The event was at a church in Houston, right in the heart of the community where I used to live. I knew so many friends who were coming and I couldn’t wait to see their faces and hug their necks. The words had been written and the talk was ready to go. The event was supposed to be today.

Moving last fall to a new city (after living in the same place for 23 years), caused the strangest thing to happen to me … everywhere I went, the grocery store, Costco, visiting churches, my son’s new school, anywhere …. my mind constantly felt like there was a browser open and it was searching for someone I knew. Over and over I could feel myself scanning crowds looking for a familiar face. My mind felt like the little circle on the computer screen that spins and spins and yet, when I would go to those places, it never found what it was looking for. It never found people that I knew. It was so weird! It happened so much that I asked a friend, who is a psychologist, if there was a term for this “syndrome” I was experiencing or if I was just weird (or both, haha!!). He thought about it a second and then he said “No, there’s not a term for what you’re describing.” I laughed and said “I knew it! I’m just weird.” And he said …”no, you’re not weird, you are a highly relational person. You love people and being around them fills you up. God wired you that way. This is all unfamiliar (and a bit unsettling) for you to go places in the city where you live and not know anyone.” He assured me that my mind would settle down over time. It did get better but I still miss seeing people I know along my walking route or at the grocery store or anywhere my day takes me.

All that to say, I knew when I got to Houston the google search in my brain was going to find what it was looking for … a room full of familiar faces and dear friends. And, even better, while I was there I was going to get to talk about Jesus.

I know that what I’m missing PALES in comparison to the disappointment of so many. It’s not even close. The graduating seniors, the brides, those with loved ones in the hospital or nursing homes that they can’t visit, birthday parties and family celebrations. It’s a lot.

Yesterday I thought about the talk I was to supposed to give and decided to go back and look at my notes. I was speaking on the faithfulness of God and how we can live lives full of faith. Right there at the top of my notes, (and I had to laugh), the opening story was called “when things don’t go as planned”.

I think we can all agree that things aren’t going as planned. These weeks look so much differently than anything we could have ever imagined. There are days I’ve felt as if I was living in a movie that I would never choose to watch.

There’s a familiar verse in Jeremiah 29, (verse 11), that says “I know the plans I have for you declares the Lord. Plans to prosper you and not to harm you. Plans to give you a hope and a future”. It sounds so good… hope! And a future! But if you look at the scriptures before verse 11, you see that these are words God is speaking to people in exile. In verse ten he says they will be there seventy more years. Entire lifetimes. God says to these people in verses 5 and 6 … “build houses and settle down, plant gardens and eat what they produce”. Basically he says… “you’re gonna be there awhile so make the best of it. Plant some flowers, play some board games, work a puzzle, take a walk”.

One of the joys of the quarantine, with my kids being home from college, has been having a walking partner again. My daughter tells me what time we are going to walk each day and then sets a (very fast!) pace. I think our dog Gretel and I both have shin splints. ?After a few days of walking with her along the path that I’ve walked along since moving here, she asked “mom, why do you always turn right on the path? Let’s go left”. And you know what? I loved the route to the left. It’s been good to change up the view. Something I’ve noticed along the route during these days is that parents are taking their children out of the strollers more and letting them splash in puddles. They are taking the time to blow the dandelions and pick the flowers that perhaps before they only viewed as weeds.

They know we’re here for a while and they are taking the time to find some joy along the way.

I think the lessons we are learning in “exile” (aka quarantine) are similar to the ones the Israelites were learning way back in the day. Enjoy where you are right now (and we’re here at least 30 more days). There is hope, and a future is coming.

I can only speak for myself but I’ve enjoyed more leisurely meals around the family dinner table, longer walks than normal and we finally hung some pictures up on the walls around here. I even told my husband I want to plant a garden.

Perhaps all of our minds right now are searching for the familiar. Our minds are spinning, looking for how things are supposed to be. And one day normal WILL return and I know all this social distancing is going to make our next hugs all the more sweeter.

I don’t know when I’ll get to give that talk on God’s faithfulnes but I’ll tell you this now …. He is oh so faithful. He has good and hopeful plans for our future. Keep looking for the joy along the way. Search for it, choose it… spread it.

And maybe even take time to blow some dandelions too.

You should know he LOVES a good guide book.

He purchased the book for this trip almost eight months before we left and began reading/studying it right away. As much as we poked fun at his undying love for the guide book, he actually did show us some really cool things we might not have otherwise seen.  He always seemed to have a fun, unusual or trivial fact to share.

On the day we visited Siena, Italy we walked straight into the town’s piazza and began taking pictures. The first site we came to was the “Fountain of Joy”. After a few pictures here we moved on.

When we returned home and I downloaded the pictures I noticed something about the Fountain of Joy that I hadn’t noticed before … I knew it had a fence around it but I hadn’t seen the padlock on the gate.

Click below to view  “Five Seconds of Scripture” (March) … and how anyone can unlock the gate to the fountain of joy in their lives.

https://youtu.be/akDI-Ib61xc

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Goodness gracious, can someone tell me where the time goes?! One minute it’s November and the next thing you know it’s March!

If you follow my Facebook page you’ve probably seen me post my “Five Seconds of Scripture” devotional videos there. For quite some time I’ve been posting these video devotionals every so often but I decided one of my New Years Goals would be to post a video each month. January’s was on Laughter and if, for the life of me, I could figure out how to get it from Facebook to here I’d post it here too. (I’ll make a new goal to remember to upload them to YouTube before I delete them from my phone. Mercy!).

I do realize it’s now March but here is February’s video. Better late than never, right?!

Thanks for watching! You can find all of the videos on my youtube channel. Promise I’ll get the March video posted in March!

In Christ’s presence there is FULLNESS of Joy! Psalm 16:11

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Wanted to let you know really quickly that I did a “Five Seconds of Scripture”,  one week bible study, on 2 Chronicles chapter 20 on Facebook before Thanksgiving.  I have a few Facebook “holdout” friends who asked if I could post it here so they could do the study as well.

Each lesson is five minutes or less (one is actually five minutes it’s on the dot – nailed it!?) and I hope you find some encouragement as you join along. God’s word is so good, so applicable to our daily lives … and my prayer is that each lesson will contain a nugget of truth from God’s word that you can apply today… and every day.

I’ll post all five here and if you want to do the Bible study just come here each day and click on another lesson. Praying you find peace on every side this holiday season.

Day 2:

Day 3:

Day 4:

Day 5:

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So often the days turn into weeks and the weeks into months so quickly that before we know it we look around and wonder how we got to our current place. That happened to me over the weekend when a friend posted that it had been fifty days since Hurricane Harvey came and wreaked havoc on Houston. I could barely believe that many days had passed. 50 days since over 53 inches of rain fell on our city. Fifty days since the reservoirs began to fill forcing an eventual release of water. The release flooded more homes, many of which had made it through the storm fine. Fifty days of “trying to figure out what to do”.

Fifty days of a new normal for Houston.

In those fifty days individuals and families that were displaced found another place to live, got furniture, bought new mattresses and cars. They replaced clothing and necessities. Along with their friends, neighbors, family, churches, etc. they mucked out their homes, cut sheetrock and began the long drying out process that will be followed by rebuilding. People met with FEMA and called the Red Cross. Dishes and clothes tainted by the flood waters were washed and years of memories were sorted through. Many of those memories ended up piled up on the curbs in front of their homes.

It’s all been so much.

Last week I read where someone asked what people should say and not say to storm survivors. Some people don’t want to hear “I’m so sorry” and then some do. The most practical advice I saw was from a person who said … “Just ask me how I am today“. She said don’t ask “how are you doing?” because it’s too broad. Because it depends on the day, even the hour or minute. I loved that idea of breaking it down to the day.

Truly this is a day by day process for so many.

I think the same holds true for all of us. Regardless of the present “storm” in our lives, taking life “daily” keeps it from being quite so overwhelming. Scripture is pretty clear about taking things one day at a time. Matthew 6:11 says “give us this day our daily bread” … because that is all we need. No more, no less. Just enough bread for today.

When we start worrying about tomorrow all kinds of thoughts, anxieties and worries can come up that just aren’t meant for today. Matthew 6:34 says “Do not to worry about tomorrow; for tomorrow has enough trouble of its own'”. That is so much easier said than done! Especially for the countless flood survivors making decision after decision, day after day. It’s hard to not worry when bills are piling up and construction is looming.

I can’t pretend to know what it is like to be dealing with all the storm “surge”. I can offer a listening ear and a helping hand. I love the advice from Hebrews 3:13 … “But encourage one another day after day, as long as it is still called today”.

Praying we can all live and encourage … on the daily.

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Towards the end of my senior year in high school I constantly used the phrase “this is my last”.  Over and over I would say it was my last time to do this activity with my friends or go to that place. I think I may have said it one too many times because one day my mom sighed and said …” you are using that ‘last time’ reason for everything”. But I truly didn’t want to miss a thing.

I have my own senior now and I’ve been hearing it over and over. “This is my last test”, “last class”, “last swim meet”, “last track meet” … the list goes on. I kept thinking I’d be sad. When the last swim meet came, I wasn’t sad. Same for the last track meet. I was truly enjoying every single second. I did wonder when it would all “hit” me.

Today as I packed the lunches I realized this was the last time I’d put a green apple in a lunch. I’ve been in the lunch making business since those early mothers’ day out days when I’d pack her and her siblings little soft sided monogrammed lunch boxes. And for as long as I can remember, while the other kids in the family had a red apple, she has always had a green.

Never once, in thirteen years of school has my senior complained about her lunch (and trust me the others did!). All those times during middle school when there were four sacks and I inevitably put the wrong sandwich in the wrong person’s sack … not a word from her. She just ate what was in her sack.

In middle school she asked me why she was the only one of her friends who didn’t get a hot sandwich. All I could think was “WHAT ON EARTH?! Hot sandwiches … What moms are making hot sandwiches and the better question … WHY?)”. I called the mom of one of her friends and sure enough, she told me she made panini’s each morning and wrapped the sandwich in foil. I tried that a few times but I think Brittany and I both knew that was a little more than I was capable of doing at 7 am.

One day she sent me a text from middle school saying …

Mom, there’s nothing on my sandwich.

Nothing?

Nope, just bread.

WHAT?!?  How did I do that?!?

No idea.

She took it all in stride and I think she and her friends had a good laugh about it. We still chuckle about it today.

Every now and then I’d be out of town and my husband would make the lunches. I  was secretly so happy when I returned and she would say “I like the way you cut apples better than dad”.

Sometimes I’d stick a note in the lunch or I’d say a prayer as I made it. I wish I had done that more. This is what I want to say today:

Dear Brittany –

This is it! Your last day of high school. I can’t believe it .. looking back it all seems to have gone so fast. I want you to know I could not be more proud of you. You are finishing strong in so many ways.  I’m so thankful for the friends (especially those who would share their lunch with you when I forgot to put anything on your sandwich!).

I love who you are and how you have never needed to be like anyone else. I’m thankful for the decisions you’ve made along the way. Tomorrow you head off to prom and next week graduation and I want you to know my heart is full of gratitude for all of it. The good days and the bad. For how you handled success with humility and heartbreak with grace. For how you have loved others in your gentle and quiet way. I think you have an extraordinary kindness about you. You are wise beyond your years and I feel like I have so much to learn from you.

In the book “Little Women” the mom, Marmee March, said this to her girls, “Time cannot diminish the wonderful workings of your mind: your humor, your kindness and your moral courage. These are the things I cherish so in you. I so wish I could give you a more just world. But I know you’ll make it a better place”.

And Brittany, I cherish all those things and more in you. I know you will make the world a better place and I can’t wait to watch you do it. Jesus’ light shines so brightly in you.

Enjoy that last green apple!

I love you so much,

Mom

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She’s used to my frequent “crisis” calls.  It goes like this:  I try and cook. I call her with questions.

More times than not I do something wrong when I cook because cooking is hard. Don’t try and tell me it’s not.

I will admit I was a bit prideful that I had pinned a recipe, gone to two different stores to buy ingredients and was ready to assemble our dinner. It was then I realized the recipe called for “instant rice” and I bought regular rice.

So when I called my neighbor told me regular rice wasn’t a problem and that I could just “parboil” the rice. I couldn’t even bring myself to tell her I had no idea what “parboil” meant. I decided I’d just look up my rice problem on the internet and see what the internets said to do. The first link I clicked also mentioned “parboiling”  which proves the world is out to get me when it comes to cooking. I decided to just cook the rice “according to package directions” and it turned out just fine.

I was excited for my family to try this new dish.  We sat down and ate and everyone talked and laughed.  No one mentioned that we were having a new dish or that they liked it.  What was more significant was that they didn’t say they didn’t like it either.

I figured no news was good news.

The next morning I made a recipe for breakfast that Jacob had at a recent youth retreat with our church.  He had some breakfast sliders that Jacob loved. In fact, the only thing he really told me about the entire weekend was “Mrs. Smith is a WAY better cook than you”.

It doesn’t take much to fall into the category of “way better cook” than me but I still called and told her he had bestowed that distinction upon her.  She laughed and gave me the recipe.  I thought it sounded kind of different but Jacob assured me we would love them.

And we did.  They were delicious.  The recipe is below.

After school I asked Jacob if he wanted me to warm up some of the chicken and rice casserole that we had the night before.  He said “yes” and as I was warming it up Jacob said something that is not just worth mentioning but also worth celebrating.

He said “Mom, that casserole was actually really good.  In fact you’ve made two good meals in a row.  You’re on a roll Mom”.

And I’m telling you right now that while I tried to look all “No big deal, easy breezy” inside I was doing a fist pump, high kick and yelling “Whoo hoo!!!”.

But on the outside I was cool as a cucumber.

I like to think of that moment as a real life cooking coup.

Below are the recipes:

Breakfast Sliders:

*Package of King’s Hawaiian rolls (and can we all just agree that you can put pretty much anything on a King’s Hawaiian roll and it will be delicious?!)

*Ham (I used ham I had leftover from Easter so it was thick cut)

*Scrambled eggs (this is the part I thought sounded “different” … but just trust me)

*Swiss cheese

Cut the rolls in half and lightly spread mayonnaise on them. (My kids won’t touch mayo regularly … every sandwich is DRY, but they didn’t balk at this).

Stack the ingredients on the rolls and place in a 9×13 pan.  Pour melted butter over the top (because YUM) and warm at 350 for two or three minutes or until cheese is melty.

Your family will love you.  Promise.  Culinary coup.

The other recipe I got from Pinterest.  It’s an oldie but goodie.  And just a tip … buy minute rice. Then you don’t have to call your neighbor or google “parboil”.

http://www.plainchicken.com/2017/03/old-school-chicken-and-rice-casserole.html?m=1

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/22306960636697038/

Last thing … sadly, Brittany recently asked me recently if I was ever going to make anything out of the cookbook she gave me for Christmas (Ayesha Curry’s “The Seasoned Life”).  Of course I meant to make something sooner than five months after Christmas … but life, so I quickly made a grocery list and made a pasta that Brittany deemed “SO good”.  Just look at it … BAM. (The bobble head next to it is Steph Curry (Ayesha’s husband and Golden State Warrior basketball player. I put it there as a trophy for my culinary efforts because the fact that I even placed the basil on top like the picture means I am deserving of an award!  Am I right?!?).

So clearly I am on a roll.  Which means I need to go figure out what we are having for dinner tonight! Have a great day!SHARE

I love pictures! Especially vacation pictures. It’s so fun to look back on fun memories of special times. About a month ago I travelled to Cabo with three friends I met at Baylor. All four of us turn 50 this year and we felt like we should commentate the fact that we’ve lived for HALF A CENTURY. That’s a big deal!

I wanted a book for the trip and when I saw one called “beach trip” I bought it.  It had a cute cover and well, I was going on a beach trip so it seemed to fit the bill.  I also wanted to bring a “party favor” for our trip.  While I was out shopping one day I found some cute beach hats.  They weren’t all different colors like the ones on the cover of my book but I still thought we could recreate the book cover picture as a momento of our trip.

I gave my friends the hats at the airport in Dallas and we took pictures in them there. Then we took pictures in them by the side of the pool and in the pool.  We took pictures in them on the beach and in a boat. I’m pretty sure we became known as “the blue hat society”.

Early one morning we decided to try and recreate the “arms in the air” picture from my book cover.  It really shouldn’t have been hard but there were several things to consider … one being that it hurt sitting on those beach rocks. We finally thought we had enough shots and we headed off to the pool. Later in the pool we did an “arms in the air” pic and another afternoon we tried the shot from a different angle on the beach.

The most hysterical thing is that one friend (you can look at the picture and decide for yourself which one you think it is) wasn’t exactly comfortable with putting her arms in the air. I mean she held them up … but it was definitely not her favorite part of the trip. She probably felt we were taking too many pictures and ESPECIALLY ones with our arms on the air.

It wasn’t until I got home and looked back  at the pictures more closely that it hit me just how symbolic it was to have pictures with close friends with our arms held in the air.  You see, we have been “arm holders” for each other for a long time.

There is a story in Exodus 17 where the Israelites were in a battle with the Amalekites. Moses said he was going to go stand on the top of a hill with the staff of God held high during the battle. The next day Joshua went to fight the battle and Moses and two friends went and stood on the top of the hill. As long as Moses held his hands up the Israelites continued to win but when he would put his arms down the Amalekites would begin to win.

Moses’ arms grew tired.  They began to ache. He was weary of holding the staff alone. But he didn’t want the Israelites to lose the battle. So his friends, Aaron and Hur, held his arms up – one on one side and one on the other “so that his hands remained steady until sunset” (Exodlus 17:12).

The Israelites won the battle that day because some friends stood alongside another and held up his hands.

As I looked through the picture from Cabo of us holding up our arms I knew … that is what we had been doing for each other for over twenty years. One of those friends (it’s the one who didn’t love holding up her arms, haha) introduced me to my husband. Another of those friends came over and cooked him dinner and when he arrived to eat she went down the back staircase and let me act like I had made it for him. Another I hugged on the night she got engaged never dreaming that two years later we’d live in the same apartment complex as newlyweds trying to figure marriage out.

We’ve been through boyfriends, weddings, babies, children growing, parents aging … big things and small.  Each year for as long as I can remember we’ve gone away to a place called Hilltop (we call ourselves the  “hilltop honeys”) and we talk.  We really only break to sleep a few hours before we start talking again.  We try and cover all that life has brought us in the past year. We have celebrated and we’ve cried.  We’ve cheered and we’ve comforted.  It’s been a sacred space for each of us.

So, quite literally, we have held up each others arms at various times along the way.  Sometimes texts among us only say “please pray, I’ll tell you why later” … but that’s all they need to say. Because arm holding is what we do. We might not always be able to fix the problem, but we can hold up each other’s  arms for awhile … until sunset if need be.  We truly want each other to win the battles .. or at least survive them. Life can be hard and unfair but knowing there are friends who will come alongside and hold up our arms and say “we’re here as long as you need us” makes us more courageous as we face the day in front of us.

I will forever be grateful for the gift of friendship. The Lord has given me a double portion, I know. I have some hometown arm holders who I know beyond a shadow of a doubt would all pile in a car and head to Houston if I told them I was having trouble holding up my arms. They might even drive all night to get here. One friend sent our group text this picture yesterday … and I love it.

Certainly there are some Houston arm holders too. Some have moved away but if I called them today, they’d hold my arms up for awhile … and I’d do the same for them.  Arm holders don’t have to be people we’ve known forever either.  They might be new friends or friends you only thought were acquaintances … but in the battle they came along side you in an unforgettable way.

Here’s the thing … we can all be arm holders and we all need arm holders. Being an arm holder might be sending a text saying you are thinking of someone or calling someone you haven’t heard from in awhile. It might be driving someone to chemo or taking a meal to a friend going through a difficult time. Arm holders come out of the woodwork when big things happen but we should also be mindful to be arm holders in the day to day of life. That daily load can get heavy too.

Maybe thank someone today for being an arm holder for you or if you need an arm holder let someone know.  And for sure go offer to hold up someone’s arms that you think might need some encouragement. Do it today.

Looking back I’m glad we took so many “blue hat, arms up” pictures.  It doesn’t matter to me that people probably thought we were crazy. What matters to me is that I’ve got some arm holders… And we will be there for each other until the sun sets.

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Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine.  Isaiah 43:1

Several years ago I was flying to meet some friends for a girls trip in Chicago. When I booked my ticket, for some reason (and why do these things always happen to me?!), it placed my name in the record as Darla Do Baerg (instead of Darla D. Baerg). I called the airline right away and they said it shouldn’t be a problem if I had my ID.

I believed them right up until the time they took my ID at security and said it didn’t match my ticket.  (Insert eye roll here). After a trip back to the ticket counter and talking to multiple people I was cleared to fly.

My friend Missy still calls me Darla Do to this day.

Another time I ordered at a restaurant and they kept calling “Delmay Deloney” over the loudspeaker. Since my name at the time was Darla Dillahunty I didn’t think it was my order.  Over and over they said “Delmay”.  “Delmay”. I finally went and asked and, sure enough … it was my order.

This morning I was thinking about names as I read my Bible. The last few years I have been noticing that the words in my Bible were becoming blurrier and smaller. I’m sure it has nothing to do with the fact that I’m getting older (ahem). I decided I needed a larger print Bible to use when I taught. I stopped by our church bookstore and looked at the “sample” large print Bible. Deciding it was perfect I asked if I could buy one. Unfortunately they no longer carried that particular one so I asked if I could buy the sample. I was told they couldn’t really sell it because the front cover was messed up. They had printed several names on the cover one on top of the another.

I told them I didn’t mind the mess ups because God knows my name so it didn’t really matter what it said on the front.

They laughed but y’all, I was totally serious. I love that it’s all messed up! It’s just like me, a big mess … but the message inside is perfect.

People ask me about it when they see it and I love telling them the same thing. God does know my name. He knows who I am. In fact He knows each of us by name. He knows the number of hairs on our head. He knows all the days of our lives before they ever happen. That’s so cool.

I love the “Cheers” TV show theme song that says … “sometimes you want to go where everybody knows your name”. And God’s word is certainly one of those places. The best place, in fact. He always knows us and in His word communicates peace, joy, comfort, hope … whatever we need. And it’s not just our name He knows, it’s our circumstances … our hurts, trials, joys … He knows it all.

Our lives can be as jumbled and messy as the name on my Bible … but His word meets us in the mess and provides just what we need.

I once read that our favorite word in the human language is our own name. Aren’t you so glad God knows yours?

And the Lord said to Moses, “This very thing you have spoken I will do, for you have found favor in my sight, and I know you by name”.  Exodus 33:17  

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Something BIG did happen in February though. Brittany decided (finally!) that she was going to attend Texas A&M in the fall. Everyone but Caroline (who refers to A&M as the “other college down the road”) is excited about it. And actually I think even Caroline is glad Brittany will be in Texas next year.

The way she came to her decision had God’s fingerprints all over it. One of my favorite life verses is Psalm 73:28 that says “But as for me, it is good to be near God.  I have made the Sovereign Lord my refuge. I will tell of all your deeds”. I put a date by that verse in my Bible to remember to “tell of His deeds” and so when the Lord does something SO OBVIOUS, I feel like I should share.

From the time the college decision process began I have prayed for two specific things for Brittany …. wisdom for her decision and peace with what she decided. I never prayed about a specific school and told her often that I knew wherever she went she would thrive. She just had to decide.

The day that applications opened she began applying and had her eye on two schools the entire time, Texas A&M and Auburn. We flew to  Auburn one week for an official tour (AND WHAT A STORY IT WAS ….. from me telling Brittany Georgia was so dark because it had so many trees and then miles and miles later realizing Georgia was so dark because I didn’t have the car’s headlights on to BARELY, and I mean BARELY making our flight back to Houston because we (I) forgot to factor in the hour time change between Atlanta and Auburn). In spite of all the crazy, we really enjoyed our visit.

We got back on a Wednesday and on Friday Brittany was going to College Station for the weekend.  She had football tickets for the Ole Miss game and was looking forward to comparing the two schools.  The Friday she was leaving to go she checked her portal and saw she was admitted to A&M.  She was thrilled (and by thrilled I mean she was shaking like a leaf and her smile spread across her face so brightly).  I’ll never forget her excitement.

She had a great weekend and then began to ponder her decision. She made a list of pros and cons, talked to others and to us about what she was going to do and truly seemed to grow more confused as the days went on. She wanted to decide by Christmas but that didn’t happen.  The days were dragging to weeks and months.  We asked her if she needed to go for another look and even took a trip back to College Station.

Still no decision.

I knew she wanted to decide and continued to pray my same prayer, wisdom and peace.  I began to wonder how and when she was ever going to make her decision. And I prayed some more.

And God is SO very faithful.

You see, Brittany left a day before we did to head to Austin for the swim meet. I called her and told her we had decided to stay for the weekend so we could go to church with Caroline on Sunday.  She told me what clothes to bring her and we booked a room for two nights.

The morning of the meet we came back up to our room after breakfast and I asked Bill if he thought we should pack up and move to a hotel closer to campus since we’d be spending time with Caroline.  He agreed and we quickly packed up the room.  I was shocked even at the time that Bill was ok taking the extra time to pack up as we were hurrying to the swim meet, but we did it.

After the meet we went to a late lunch and then went to Caroline’s to hang out.  Brittany took a nap, Bill worked and Caroline and I went to the grocery store to fill her empty shelves.  About an hour later we were debating whether we’d be hungry enough for dinner or only dessert.  We decided on dessert and as we were preparing to go Brittany said she was SO tired and asked if we could please go home.  I was initially against it because I so wanted to go to Caroline’s church but after much discussion we decided it was best for us to head on home.

But first dessert. It was SO good!

We got home late but it was good to sleep in our own beds.

After church the next day we went to lunch and talked about all kinds of things. After we had eaten Brittany casually (as is her style) mentioned that her class had not had a Sunday School lesson that day. She said instead they went around the group of girls and shared their favorite verse and what was going on in their lives.

She told about her college decision struggle and said she just wasn’t sure about where to go and said a few reasons why she was struggling.  Her teacher stopped her at this point and said something like this  … “Brittany, there is something I need to say to you.  I’m not being rude but you need to hear this. You are basing your decision on where to go to college based on other people and you need to go where you feel like you are supposed to go and not let other people influence your decision”. (I’m sure it was actually stated much better than I just paraphrased it there). Brittany then stopped her story here and said … “And based on what my teacher said to me today I’ve decided that I am going to go to Texas A&M in the fall”.

We could NOT believe it.  Did we hear her correctly?  I asked …. “did you just announce a college decision?”.  She said “yes” and there were big smiles and maybe even a tear or two from her dad.

And as we sat there celebrating her decision I realized God had answered my prayer.

The WISDOM that her teacher imparted to her gave her the PEACE that she needed to make her final decision.

On the way home from lunch I said to anyone who was listening … “I sure am glad we came home last night”.

I think about how crazy it was that we did.  We could have been in Austin and missed it. We could have stayed in the hotel a second night. Brittany’s Sunday School teacher could have prepared a lesson but instead felt led to ask the girls about what was going on in their lives. I fully believe God orchestrated all of it to give Brittany what she needed.

Wisdom and Peace.

Gig ’em!

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