Jesus, Superman and Expectations

I have two scenes to describe. At first when these events happened, I couldn't see a connection or any kind of link between them, but after thinking about it for a couple of days I think I know what the Lord is trying to show me through them. Here goes:

Scene 1:
I saw Superman this morning at the corner of SR 436 and Wekiva Springs Rd. He was wearing a red cape, blue tights, had bulging biceps under a white shirt and a big red "S" emblazoned across his chest. He put his hands on his hips and jumped around like he was getting ready to fly--kinda like the real Superman might have done, if there really was one. At one point he actually leaped over a small sign stuck in the ground at the corner. He occasionally held up a poster board sign probably advertising something to all the cars passing by him. I had to give the guy credit. He was quite the showman in his hot red cape and big red "S". He surely made my morning lighter even though I KNEW this was not the superhero, Superman. No such thing exists. I know this at my very core.

Scene 2:
I was in Walmart a day or so ago. While I was looking at some kitchen stuff, I noticed two women talking together just down the aisle from me. An average day. Average women shopping. As I picked up the frying pan to check it out closer, I heard one woman exclaim excitedly, "Jesus!"

Now, I didn't hear the women's conversation. I have no idea what they were talking about--Nada. Nothing. And, I have overheard people of all sorts use our Lord's name as a byword or even a curse word and each time it hits me deep in my heart because Jesus' name is precious to me, but though it may have been said carelessly, that's not how she sounded at all. In her excitement, there was a nuance of expectancy, an element of happy surprise and for the slightest split second--a nanosecond even--my heart leaped at the thought that she might have seen Jesus. I know, I know. On the cookware aisle in our Walmart?

Back to Superman. Even though I saw an actual person in the Superman outfit, I wasn't the least bit persuaded to think that the guy on the highway was a real superhero. There was no instantaneous flutter in my heart that he really might be Superman and that I might actually meet him. There was certainly no disappointment for me because he was just a guy advertising one thing or another. But, after my immediately happy reaction in the store when I thought the woman saw Jesus, there I was, back to earth with a frying pan in my hand, and I have to tell you I was disappointed that Jesus wasn't there--at least not in the flesh.

At first, I felt silly for my reaction. What did I think I would see? A man in Biblical garb, with long hair wearing sandals 10 feet from me? Maybe. I don't know I didn't have enough time to form an actual image in my mind. I wondered if I was losing it a little. Really, Suzanne...c'mon--Jesus in Walmart? But over the last couple of days I've thought more about it and I realize that as followers of Christ we live in expectation of Jesus' return. We walk daily in Jesus' presence. We pray without ceasing. He lives in us. He is with me wherever I go--Publix, Walmart, church, visiting relatives, vacation, it makes no difference to Him. He is ever present in His children's lives.

1 Corinthians 13:12 (The Message)
12We don't yet see things clearly. We're squinting in a fog, peering through a mist. But it won't be long before the weather clears and the sun shines bright! We'll see it all then, see it all as clearly as God sees us, knowing him directly just as he knows us!

I find my reaction humorous but I don't feel silly or foolish about it anymore. The Lord has shown me that it's a good thing to live with a sense of expectancy and anticipation of Jesus. The events of that day have encouraged my heart about seeing Jesus face to face. I don't know how I'll act on that great day and I don't know how I'll feel except I know, that I know, that I know, it will be good. It will be so very good.

Lord, Thank you for the expectation of seeing you face to face. I can hardly wait! I love you. I love you. I love you!

Suz

lizard huntin'

I was wrapped in a comforter, relaxing in my chair with two sleeping pups on my lap, watching a little television last night when I heard a panicky Kayla yell at me,

"Suzy! Come here! Come here! It's in my room!"

Now, Kayla doesn't get into a hurry about much and she doesn't get excited needlessly. She's a pretty laid back girl. So, when she yelled like she did, I hurriedly unwrapped myself, unreclined my chair and unceremoniously plopped the pups on the floor and nearly broke my neck trying to get to her to see what was so very wrong. She met me in the hall eyes wide, wide open and a huge smile on her face.

"There's a lizard in my room and I'm not sleeping in there unless you catch him! You gotta find him. He's over by the wall. EEEEK...get him get him!"

I knew the thing had been in the house for a few days because I'd seen him under the couch and on the fireplace screen but I pretty much ignored his presence and hadn't said anything about him being around to Kayla. I didn't really want to go lizard huntin'. But now I had no choice. I had to if we were going to get any rest at all.

I looked on the far side of the room on the floor and sure enough, there he was. He didn't look too good. He was gaunt and dried out but still pretty frisky. I slowly moved over to the side of the bed and got down on my knees, moving steadily toward the creature. He didn't budge.

Yet.

I quickly planned my attack and in one swift movement swooped my hand down and grabbed his tail and started to carry him to the front door. Success was going to be swift. Or so I thought. That's when his tail broke in the middle and I dropped everything on the floor--lizard body and still squirming lizard tail. Then I yelled, "Oooooh, Ooooohhhh.....Yuck, Yuck....Ick Ick!"

I couldn't help it. It freaked me out!

The lizard scooted underneath the bed back to the other side of the room. Now I was getting nervous. What if I couldn't catch him? Would there be any rest in Mudville tonight? I got down on my belly on the floor, lizard-huntin'. There he was within my grasp once again. I bravely swooped my hand down. AHA! Good shot! I caught him. He was mine!

That is until the meaty little monster started wriggling in the palm of my hand.

"Ooooooh! Ooooooh! Ick! Ick!"

I flung him back down on the carpeted floor. I couldn't help it. It felt really creepy. OK, back down on the floor on my belly.

"Kayla! Bring me a plastic cup. I see him."

He was backed into the corner but one false move on my part and I might never find him again. I held my peace and just watched him until I had the cup in hand.

Timing my movement to the split second, I carefully but quickly plopped the cup over the lizard. I had him now! He wasn't going anywhere but where I wanted him to if I had anything to say about it. Then I carefully slipped a dvd case under the cup full of lizard and gingerly carried the little creep outside. I bid him Godspeed and let him go.

Kayla was ecstatic and so was I. Ding dong the witch is dead!

My job was through here but just for principle's sake I made Kayla pick up and throw away the left behind tail. I had rescued her from the living breathing wiggly thing and she had to 'man up' and do lizard tail duty.

Welcome to my world.

Suz

my tough week and looking forward

It's been a tough week. Monday I woke up with a migraine headache that I just couldn't seem to shake--no matter how many Advil I took. I slept much of the day only getting up long enough to take the pups outside or answer the phone. And yet the headache hung on...and on...and on. I rested in the recliner. I lay on the bed. I stretched out on the couch. Nothing helped.

I slept all Monday night and by Tuesday, the pain in my head eased up, but because of all the laying down the day before in many different positions, my neck went out and that's when the vertigo set in. It has been an ongoing problem for many years now. Sleep in a new position--vertigo. Sleep on a different pillow--vertigo. It's miserable and, as a bonus, a quickly spinning room makes for a very nauseous stomach. Misery hits a new high. I wouldn't wish the experience on any other human being.

So, I prayed and took my medicine and slept some more and every day since Tuesday, the vertigo has subsided some each day. It's Friday now and I'm mostly back to my normal. I'm a pretty happy girl. Loving the stationary rooms. Loving the gorgeous weather. Loving that it's Easter weekend.

Being out of pocket for a few days makes a girl think about stuff. Like all the things I was going to do but simply wasn't able to accomplish. There were all kinds of errands I could have checked off my to do list. The laundry just sat there...crawling up the wall a foot at a time. I wanted to go and do and visit and complete tasks. It all stayed undone.

And, guess what happened? Nothing. The ceiling didn't fall in. No one from Walmart pounded on my door and fussed at me because I didn't get there for supplies. The mailman didn't get mad because I didn't check my mail for a day or two. No one in our family starved or walked around town in filthy clothes. Kayla still got up on time and got off to school with books and lunch in tow. And with the exception of one or two missteps the pups always got outside on time to check their pee-mail.

While I was down I worried some about how I'd handle the busy upcoming Easter weekend if I still couldn't function well when it rolled around. My little Summer is having her birthday party Saturday and I needed to buy her a present and I wanted to go there and celebrate with her. I love the sunrise service on Easter Sunday and in the afternoon on Easter my kids and their kids are coming to dinner at our house so I needed to shop for food and prepare for festivities. So much to do--what if I couldn't do it? I worried about it for a while and then I decided if I couldn't get it done, I'd just have to do it later, when I was able to do it.

Now that I'm feeling more like myself, I'm looking forward with anticipation. I'm looking forward to Summer's party tomorrow. It's not every day my granddaughter celebrates her eighth birthday! And I'm looking forward to Sunrise Service on Easter Sunday. What a joy to celebrate our Savior's Resurrection! And I'm looking forward to my kids coming over for dinner on Sunday afternoon. I have a new dessert I want to try out on them.

It's a celebration weekend all the way around. I love looking forward. What a great time it will be!

Father, Thank you for Jesus Ressurection! Without the Lord's ressurection there would be no looking forward. Thank you for raising me up from a sick bed this week. Thank you for helping me to look forward. With You, all of life is looking forward. It's going to be a great weekend. I love you, Lord. I love you.

Suz

the Savannah Chronicles Day 3

Today was busy even though it was overcast and very rainy most of the day. We began with breakfast at the hotel and then got in the truck for a field trip to Tybee Island to see the lighthouse. We weren't sure about how to get there but Byron's GPS unit led us straight to the right place. Tybee Island Lighthouse was built in 1773 and has been restored into a beautiful place. We didn't stay long because of the weather but did take some photos to capture the few moments we were there.

After checking out the lighthouse we walked down to the beach to look but didn't stay. It was pretty deserted and the cold sea breeze blew us right back to the truck to look for food. We followed our GPS back out to the highway and to the Sugar Shack for lunch where we ate burgers and fries and enjoyed conversation. Our drive back into the historic district of Savannah was a stormy wet one.

We were nearly back to our hotel when Holly asked if we could drive around the beautiful squares of the area to look for the cathedral we'd seen the day before on the trolley tour we took around the city. We programmed our GPS once more to look for St John the Baptist Catholic Cathedral and found it on our first try. Because of the few street parking places available I was just going to drop her off so she could go inside and look, but miracle of miracles, we found an end parking spot on the corner just beyond the handicapped entryway of the church. Amy helped me park our huge pickup truck in the street spot. Summer popped our three quarters into the meter for our 45 minutes of parking time to go see the huge cathedral.

The elevator brought us right into the sanctuary of the spectacular place of worship. I do not know enough words to describe this awesome place. Paintings on the sky high ceilings were amazing. The stained glass windows, the statues of different scenes of the life of Christ at every window, the marble pillars with gold trim throughout the polished wood pews, and the huge pipe organ in the back upper level of the church were overwhelming to see. If I stayed in there for days it wouldn't have been enough time to examine and appreciate every aspect of this beautiful place. I was so glad to be able to experience this place where people in Savannah still worship. I was proud of my little girls as we walked around the sanctuary. Summer was well behaved in the midst of all this magnificent splendor. Hannah was respectfully curious about the holy water fountain and the prayer candles and both girls were quiet so as to not disturb those who were praying. It was a perfect opportunity to explain to them the differences in worship they were noticing.

We ran through the rain back to our vehicle and then to the hotel. Supper was pizza ordered in from Vinnie Van Go-Gos and it was terrific but we ordered too much so Holly took our other one down to the desk crew and they gladly took it off our hands. It was great pizza and I'm glad it didn't get thrown away.

We will leave early in the morning for home and I'm ready to be there. I miss Byron and my pups and my regular routine. Hannah is not a great adventurer and even though she's had fun, she's a home girl and this trip was a stretch for her. Summer has settled down some and is missing home, too. I caught her alone on the hotel phone just this morning "calling her daddy." No one knew she was doing this. She missed her daddy and just wanted to talk to him. Holly made sure Summer spoke to Tony tonight on her cell phone so she could let him know she loved him and missed him.

This is a good trip and there's not much I would change about it. What a fun time.

Lord, Thank you for this blessing of this trip for our family. We love you so much and will give you all the praise and honor for this fun time and safe trip. I love you, Jesus.

Suzanne

the Savannah chronicles Day 2

The ice machine excitement continues. Summer hasn't settled down yet. Every new experience brings out giggles and the occasional spontaneous dance. Summer and I went to get ice the first night and as soon as the bucket was filled, in her exuberant manner, she grabbed it to take it to the room. In 1.2 seconds the whole bucket of ice spilled all over the floor. Of course we refilled and continued on our way to the rooms.

Enter night number two. Summer and her mom, Holly, went to fetch our nightly bucket of ice. Summer squealed in her best seven year old squeal as the ice cascaded into the bucket. This night she was extra careful in transportation of said ice. With lid tightly held to the top of the bucket Summer repeated her magic words, "Don't let the ice spill. Don't let the ice spill." Granddaughter and full ice bucket made it back to the rooms without incident.

Tonight Holly and Summer made the nightly pilgrimage to the ice machine. Evidently this will be Summer's responsibility until our time here is over. The walk to the frozen cubes was filled with frolicking all the way down the hallway to the machine. Summer plopped the bucket under the chute and slapped the button with vigor. (My granddaughter does even the smallest task great enthusiasm.) The roar of the ice twirling inside the machine getting ready to drop down only intensified the anticipation of a job well done for Summer. When the ice finally shot quickly down the chute it startled Summer so much she jumped and nearly knocked the bucket onto the floor for the second time this trip. Our girl at last managed to calm herself and deliver the ice without incident.

We watch our little one with great joy. There is nothing we do that is not 'new and improved' for Summer. She isn't bored with anything we do together. There are no jaded comments. No, "I don't want to do that." If it's a little change, or just plain fun, Summer is there, baby. There is so much for children to do and have in 2009. There are over the top birthday parties that encourage the attitude of more and more, please. Some toys cost hundreds of dollars. Children are often inundated with obscene abundance that births extreme selfishness and deepens the sinkhole of perceived emptiness and need.

Please do not assume that because our Summer is open and fun loving and joyful that she lives a perfect life, protected from all pain and trouble or challenge with never a care of her own to confront. Nothing is further from the truth. Summer suffers from asthma and many allergies to materials like polyester and acetate, and certain soaps, lotions, detergents. Her skin reacts with severe eczema to many of her favorite foods: eggs, milk, peanuts and ingredients in her beloved snack foods. From infancy she has learned what eating them does to her with the incessant breaking out, relentless itching and painful broken skin--so she doesn't eat them. And there isn't a child anywhere who loves to eat and enjoys food as much as she does. To have as itch free skin as possible without the torture of a reaction, in a very grown up manner, and even though she'd love to have them, she avoids these things. I don't know if I could do it as diligently as she does. And still, our little girl enjoys life in more fully than many people I know.

I hope little Summer holds on to her love of life and experience for a long, long time and that she never grows up so much that she becomes cynical and ungrateful for the small, good things in life. She helps me continue to find fun through her seven year old's eyes.

Father, thank you for the small, good things. Thank you for letting my granddaughter show me new ways of fun. I'm grateful, Lord. I love you.

Suz