A few days ago, Betsie had taken Laura to a nearby park and Laura had come home telling of its wonders, especially all about the mice that lived there and she had been begging and begging to go back. So I decided to be a fun mom today and take the kids on an outing.
We, along with one of the Lancaster girls, walked the few blocks to Smith Park and while the teenaged girls went on to a coffee shop a little bit further on, the rest of us hung out at the park. We saw some of our neighbors who come to We Will Go regularly, got a tour of the mouse hole entrances, took lots of pictures, jumped on concrete rocks that must have been a part of a fountain system at one point, and took more pictures. We also enjoyed hearing the nearby church bells peal on the hour.
After a while, it was time to head back home to the Faith House.
Now I gotta be honest and tell you, I'd been experiencing a lot of stress. I had been letting all the changes and issues start getting to me so I was determined that I was really going to just have fun with the kids. I knew I had a million boxes still waiting to be unpacked, not to mention errands that needed to be run, but I wanted to be the kind of mama that my kids enjoy being with, not the rabid-psycho-time-bomb that inside I felt like.
So anyway, on the way home, I just let the kid in me come out, including, but not limited to, running across green, grassy areas.
Yes, in downtown Jackson, surrounded by politicians and lawyers in business suits, office workers in their khakis and button downs, and a random homeless person or two, I was careening up the capitol grounds' hills and down the grassy plaze next to the Supreme Court Building.
We made it home only to discover that my cell phone was missing. Last I'd remembered using it was back at Smith Park while sitting on the park bench. So after determining that it wasn't at the house, my 15 year old and I jumped in the van and drove back to Smith Park. One of our neighbors was there and he helped David look. When it couldn't be found, he promised to keep an eye out for it. David said he'd walk home the way we'd gone and look for it and I drove on home. When he couldn't find it, I headed back out, retracing our steps as best I could.
I walked past the Supreme Court, again. I diligently searched the State Capitol grounds and talked to landscape workers and security guards alike. And then I went yet again to the grassy mall across the street that abuts the Supreme Court. I had been praying but I really kicked up the praying. I really did not want to have to spend money on a new phone.
I started going in back and forth lines across the grass looking for that bit of blue. And what did I see? My lipstick! Perched atop some blades of grass was my tube of lipstick.
Ah ha! This gave me motivation to keep looking. If my lipstick had bounced out of my purse while I was chasing my kids, then it was a good bet that my phone had done the same thing.
After numerous zig-zag sweeps, I saw the sun glistening on my blue phone. Praise the Lord!
God had helped me find my little phone in the midst of a bajillion blades of grass in a big ole city.
I guess the whole situation has had a couple of positive results.
First, I need to remember that God cares about what's going on. He knows that the sale on our house hasn't been finalized, that our van just had to be fixed for over a thousand dollars, that my husband has been working long hours and facing extra demands, that I still have a thousand and one boxes to unpack, and that I'm struggling with figuring out how to be a mom of a million kids living at an inner-city ministry.
He'll not give me more than I can handle with HIS strength and provision. He wants me to walk in His peace, strength, wisdom, and joy. He wants to help me if only I'll not freak out and just run around like a chicken with my head chopped off.
And Second? Thanks to my wayward phone, I got lots of walking in today. As a result, now that I'm exhausted after a full day, I won't need to exercise.
