You know how when you're shopping at a store, minding your own business, maybe wondering which shampoo will really give you more volume, you come across a sound so startling you almost drop that shampoo bottle? It's the "I Wanna" kid. The "I Wanna" kid has somehow fixated on something in the store and has decided that their life is not worth living without it. Maybe they missed their nap or they're hungry, but for whatever reason I Wanna is on a mission and is determined to make it happen.
If I Wanna's mom has gone through this too many times to care, she will let I Wanna go on crying, maybe with a couple stern whispers in I Wanna's ear, "We're not doing this here. Wait till we get home." Or she may drag I Wanna across the store's floor as I Wanna is gripping her ankles in a full body plea, sweeping any dust bunnies in the way, in her own determination not to let her shopping mission be disrupted by I Wanna's mission.
My favorite is when I Wanna's mom ain't havin it. She stops I Wanna dead in their tracks, squares herself up to I Wanna, gets in I Wanna's face and in a very certain and definitive manner says, "Stop right now. Stop whining, stop crying, and straighten yourself up because your life is not about to end if things don't go your way." I Wanna stops crying and breathes short and quick inward breaths as the remaining tears roll off or dry up on their face. The crisis has been taken care of.
It's at this point that I take my purchases and move on to the next aisle because what I really want to do is a slow clap in admiration of I Wanna's mom who handled the situation so swiftly and confidently.
This is the manner that God handled me last Saturday morning. I was at Lake Merced ready for our Fun Run to raise money for kids to attend camp this summer. My hope and dream was that kids were able to raise hundreds of dollars from neighbors and friends and family. I also hoped that we had other adults in the community who were so excited to help they also raised hundreds of dollars to help kids. We were to start at 9am.
By 9:15 only one of my volunteers had shown up. No kids, no adults, no money raised. I proceeded to whine and complain. I was angry and frustrated that no one had shown up. I didn't know how else we were going to raise the 15K it takes to send 30 kids to camp. I'm not gonna lie, I dropped a very well placed F-bomb in there somewhere and a couple other choice words in the midst of frustration.
It was about this time God had had enough and got ready to lay the smack down on me. The thing about God is that God can come in many different ways. Today God sent KK. KK was parked right next to my car. She had just finished running the lake with her sister. I was still dark and seething, but forced a smile to greet her. Her energy and optimism melted my frustration as she offered to help with a spaghetti feed and a bake sale. She started to list off all the other kind of fund raisers we could do. With each fund raiser idea she listed off, I felt like I Wanna sniffing and slowly letting my anger go. By the time she left, having promised to help, I hung my head low in shame. Why was I whining? Why was I so frustrated? God is more invested in the kids than I am, of course God will make a way.
I had experienced the equivalent of the supermarket smack down. And you know what? There wasn't any real reason for me to whine and complain. My life was not going to end over that matter. Although it wasn't an out and out spanking, God gently but firmly reminded me that when I think my world is in shambles, it might just be that I need to stop complaining and trust that God knows best.
Thing I like today:
- Trader Joe's gnocchi and gorgonzola
- Sparkling Pomegranate juice
- tart frozen yogurt with fresh strawberries and dark chocolate chips
- same as above, but blended into a smoothie
- the 3 year old at TJ's pushing a little shopping cart, heading to the back of the store saying over and over to his dad, "I need a sample. I need a sample. I need a sample"
- Drumstick ice cream
- the "Lose It" app on my IPhone.
- The fact that I saw men have to wait in line for the bathroom at Dolores Park
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