Divine Providence

Ever have one of those moments when you find yourself doing something while you wonder "why am I doing this" only to have the reason made perfectly clear to you later? That would have been me the other night. The boys were off to fencing for the evening, so the girls and I decided to head to the book store for some browsing and some hot chocolate. As we were driving to the store located in the ritzy neighborhood, I remember asking myself... why are you driving all the way over there? There was another store closer to the house but in the opposite direction with hot chocolate just as tasty. I really couldn't think of a good reason to be heading down the path I was and yet, here I was, on that road.

The girls and I decided to do our browsing first and after they chose a few items to peruse, we sat down. When I stood up, it felt like God had turned the knob all the way up on the gravity machine. Something was dragging me back down. Scary. I fought through it long enough to get all of us out of the store and my husband on the cell phone. He has had experience with these symptoms and thought I was probably on the verge of fainting so he told me to put my head between my knees and hang on; he would be there as soon as he could get the boys in the car. It took him about 10 minutes by my watch. Ten minutes to drive 1 mile mostly because of uncooperative traffic lights. The fencing club was that close. He came like a knight in a shining automobile with Gatorade already in hand (courtesy of my fencer who didn't get to finish his lesson). And even though she will never know this, I have tremendous thanks in my heart for the woman in the white SUV who watched me from her car until she saw him arrive.

Later that night, Shortcake felt bad. She thought that going to the bookstore was what made me sick and that we should have just stayed home. I told her about my doubts on the way there; that I thought we should have gone to the other store. I also shared with her that it was only in looking back on the situation that we could see God's plan. He guided us to the place closest to Daddy who was the only one who could take care of the situation in a simple way. Sure, an ambulance could have done the trick too, but I don't consider that a simple solution!

The story continues....

So, as much as I hate to go to the doctor, I had to concede that maybe it was time to give her a call. They were able to work me in yesterday afternoon. Feeling too scared to drive myself, Husband piled everyone in the van and drove us all down there. He dropped me off and then bravely took on the challenge of entertaining four kids all by himself. As we pulled up, we noticed some people standing across the street and down a little ways from the building I was heading to. We read their signs and saw that they were 40 Days for Lifers. So after he fueled the kiddos with a little ice cream, they went and prayed and held signs with them. The kids loved it! There were smiles and waves (frowns and revving engines, too) but the kids thought it was a blast. I could tell that Husband was also feeling energized and animated as he told me about their experience. They had planned on just saying "hello" but were handed signs and even took over by themselves until the next group arrived. We have been participating during this campaign by offering little sacrifices and prayers here at home, but hadn't expected to be able to participate in this way. What a blessing. I wish I could have been there with them.

When I look back on everything that has happened the past few days, it is easy to see God's hand. A hand that guided me closer to my husband both physically and spiritually. Thank you, Lord for your goodness and for bringing good out of what could have been a very difficult situation.



P.S. I just wanted to give everyone a heads up that there will probably be no coloring pages for this week or the next. I had one half-done for St. John Capistrano and if I get around to finishing it I will post it even though his feast day has passed. Next week we have Book Club, out of town guests, an All Saints Party, Shortcake's First Holy Communion and a family Sacrament Celebration for Shortcake and The Professor, Sunshine and their cousins who were Confirmed. I know. If you don't hear from me for a while, just say a prayer that the nice men in the white coats don't get stuck in traffic! Bye!