nectarines, revivals, and open air...

God sure does have a funny way of smacking you right in the face when you need it....

if you read my last post you know that i'm having a bit of a go of it here in columbia trying to get a job in the pac nw and trying not to miss my friends too much... alas, this weekend brought a much needed slap in the face and a renewed faith that things will work out when they work out, and God is in control, not me. it's sort of a long story so stick with me...

friday I was overwhelmed by summer, fresh nectarines so juicy you have to stand over the sink to eat them, a great bike ride that kicked my out-of-shape butt ( i mean it's not a triangle or anything), a chill night on the futon with annie and disc two of band of brothers, the perfect temperature to sleep with a fan in the window, and a good nights sleep...

saturday was just your basic day- a little work at the shop, some grocery shopping, and the rest of disc two of band of brothers.

today however has been a day to put down in the books. sunday. i slept in, as i have been doing every sunday since school ended, but today when I woke up I realized that finally, not only does the air conditioning actually exist, but it has been turned on!! praise Jesus.

i decided yesterday that i would kayak today, and that is what I did. after a leisurely breakfast I unpacked my kayak gear, loaded up my car and drove to little dixie lake about 15 miles outside of columbia. windows down, switchfoot blaring, holding tight at about 55/60mph. it was great. i arrive, get my boat in the water and i'm off.

after a long and hard paddle, a sore and sunburned version of myself pulls my boat out of the water only to realize i was too exhausted to get it back on the top of my car by myself... the fist sign of a future slapping- a guy and his girlfriend had also just finished on the water and were parking their big metal old school rowboat and drinking the last of their beers, I got annoyed by their mere existance... and as i make a last ditch effort to get my kayak on my car I get man handled by it and almost crush myself when said guy comes over and offers a hand, DANGIT! first slap of the day, don't be quick to get annoyed.

after i get my boat tied down and all of my stuff loaded back in the car, i role the windows down and turn up switchfoot. i needed gas. luckily there is a gas station right by the entrance to little dixie. so, I pull in, gas up, trade in my winning diet dr pepper cap for a frosty liter and hit the road. what a great ride home.

as i pull into blockbuster to trade in band of brothers for a new DVD, it hit me. I left the gas station with my wallet sitting helplessly on top of my trunk. i had been distracted by the gas pump, you see, after it clicked to let me know stella was full I gently removed the pump only to have gasoline spew from it all over my car and the ground. so, put my wallet down to have a free hand, and i grabbed the squeegee thing and cleaned off my car and while i was at it, cleaned all the windows...

thankfully the girl at blockbuster was kind enough to let me rent my new movie sans ID. directory assistance was in fact no assistance at all, so i call my mom in a panic to ask her if she could look up the conoco station in millersburg, missouri on the computer so i could call to see if my wallet had been turned in...she looks it up and texts me the number, no answer, no answer, so, I hop back on the road. I am thinking, "what a horrible ending to the first good weekend i've had in awhile! you idiot!!!! someone is going to find it and go on a shopping spree..." as I was scolding myself and blowing everything out of proportion my mom calls back. Kari had found my wallet and will meet me at the little white church right before you get to the gas station.

because my mom is a helicopter and i am a child who obeys, i carry a laminated "in case of emergency" card with me in my wallet everywhere I go with all of my mom's contact information on it. Kari, a sweet woman from Millersburg and her husband were on their way to the Millersburg Babtist Church Revival and found my wallet in the middle of the road... She told me she felt bad about going through it, but was glad she did because she found my emergency card. I offered to by her a tank of gas to show my gratitude, but she wouldn't let me. she said she was just glad i got my wallet back. you better believe that I thanked God for my wallet and that ridiculous emergency card and people like Kari in the parking lot of that little white church.

God smacked me right in the face today with a big dose of grace.

Things are on the up swing i think. I'm ready to face the rest of this job search and all of my free time with a renewed faith that God has a plan and He will carry it out in His time. and in the mean time, i'll apply for more jobs and get to work on seeking after Him more and being in His word, so that I will never forget or lose sight of what He has planned, what He has done for me, and His grace and mercy that I so often find myself draped in and yet am so undeserving of.