OK….

So it’s been a while since I’ve written anything.  The first part of 2020, so far, has been much busier than I would have imagined.  Today, my wife and our 2 older daughters will be singing as part of a Black History Month celebration at the historic Grace Church in Newark, NJ.  My mission was to have the girls dressed (concert-ready) and go to our church’s 10:45am service and, from there, head to Grace Church in time for the little ones to start rehearsing.  If this was how things went, how utopian and bland would that be?

Here’s what REALLY went down:

I’m up before 7am dealing with stomach troubles that kept me down for the better part of 2 hours.  Fast forward to 10am and I’m finally strong enough to get out the door with the girls to go to the store and pick up black pants and solid color shirt (red, yellow, green).  Once the girls and I arrive to the nearby Walmart, I lay out my game plan; I know what part of the store to attack for a quick getaway.  Boy, was I in for a surprise:  the ENTIRE apparel area was restocked to sell springtime items!  I spent just over half an hour combing through racks and shelves before finding shirts and pants that would be suitable enough.  After getting through the checkout lane, we all have the realization that we’re hungry and did not get a chance to eat yet.  I found that all of us were hungry after walking out of the store.  Thankfully, I had some coupons that my youngest child found for me a week earlier.

Feast fit for a king…

Once we get to the restaurant, I had my 2 girls go to the restroom and change into the clothes we bought earlier.  After I cleverly order our food, using individual orders to get around the 1-coupon limit, we sit down and hurriedly ate our food.  In the course of eating, my middle child accidentally got some ketchup on her new, bright yellow shirt for the concert.  It would have been easy to freak out and panic, but what would that solve?  With some fast thinking, I decide that club soda would be a possible band-aid, though it wouldn’t get all of the stain out, but it would diminish it enough.  Sadly, the fountain machine didn’t have any club soda, so my next idea was to try the sparkling water and see if that helps.

Success!

While on the one hand, I was sad to miss worship and sermon at my church today.  I was able to be recipient and beneficiary of the Holy Spirit’s calm and comforting presence.  My hope and prayer continues to be for opportunities to jot down my experiences and for them to be a blessing to any and all who read.

Until next time, may you walk in peace and with purpose!

~Ry