Making God Laugh

There is a line that says "If you want to see God laugh, just tell him your plans."

I believe it's true. I can document some of the chuckles I have given God over the years.

In my early years I followed what came naturally. I graduated from school, went to college, met the love of my life, got married, had kids....I followed the pattern. Then Larry decided he wanted to change jobs. He got a new job. He wanted to move south. I wanted to move north. I thought New England was the perfect place to be. (Of course, the only time I had ever spent in New England had been in the summer. It was beautiful. It was friendly. It was fun. Let's go there!!) Or Colorado. (It has mountains. It is beautiful. Let's go there!) Larry checked the statistics for salesmen in fishing and hunting. He was looking around. I thought to myself, PLEASE, NOT the SOUTH!!!! So he picked Florida. Ok, Technically, Florida is just a northern state that was placed south of Georgia, so maybe God was just looking for a giggle, not a real laugh.

7 years later:
I have finally adjusted to living in Florida. I've decided it's ok if I stay here. It took awhile, I know. I was a reluctant transplant. For the first time since we've moved here I've made plans for the fall. I will be my daughter's Girl Scout leader. The phone rings..... within hours I've discovered we are moving to Ft. Lauderdale. There are only 2 places in the U.S. I don't want to live. California and Miami. God apparently needs a pick-me-up. Time for a chuckle. Send her to Ft. Lauderdale. Her husband can work in Miami.

After 4 years of penance I am returned to that place I didn't want to be in the first place, Tampa. And I am THRILLED!!!!! I can not tell you how happy I am to be back there. Ironic isn't it? God has a great sense of humor.

Fast forward several years. My oldest daughter is approaching marriage. No proposal yet, but could be soon. I look at the church where we've been a member for years. These people have been a part of her life. I can see it. The pastor that will marry her, the organist that will play at the service. The couple in our church that can sing the solos at her service. I can see it all coming to fruition.....

There is not a happy ending here. Let's just say it never happened. 1) the pastor retired. 2) the organist and one of the soloists had an affair. 3) Fortunately, my daughter had her own plans and her own church so she had her own people lined up. I suspect God wasn't laughing. Perhaps there was a trickle of a tear. But there was a happy wedding, even if it wasn't what I had seen. And He was smiling.

2005--I can see the future. Although Larry and I moved away from our extended families, I have a great chance of having my kids around me in the future. Jen and Dave are in Orlando, with strong ties to the area. We have been in Florida for 25 years. Janice has proclaimed that she doesn't want to move from Florida. (HA)!  I'm feeling good. I never see it coming.

Jen starts the dominoes. She and her husband are looking at teaching positions in Charlotte, NC. I'm ok with that. A couple of months later, Janice announces she has been on eHarmony.com and met a guy named Mike who lives in Iowa. IOWA??????? (I can't tell you how long it took me to wrap my head around that!) Larry completes the Trifecta. His job is eliminated. He starts a nation-wide search. I can see all my plans collapsing around my head.

God must have needed a real belly laugh with this one. Jen stayed in Florida. Janice married and moved to Iowa, and we moved to PA. What happened to my vision of a family close by in Florida? (Author's note: I've been to Iowa many times now, and I really like it there. More importantly, so does Janice!)

What prompted this post? Why am I talking about all this history, now? The weather.

We, by that I mean most of the east, are having a crazy winter. Super cold is one part of it, but most areas are experiencing very high snowfalls. Recently, I was clearing snow for the 3rd day in a row. After a while it gets boring. And annoying. I get up in the morning and then try to decide if I need to shovel or get the snowblower out now, or later because it's still coming down.

As I was clearing it, I thought to myself, "It might be cold in Georgia but I won't be doing this!"

And the next morning I heard the weather report:" Extreme cold in the south and record snowfalls" for an area without snow removal equipment.

And I thought to myself, "REALLY GOD? Are you that bored? Are you laughing with me or AT ME????"

God has probably laughed at me more than this, but sometimes I'm too blind to see. All I know is that deciding I know my future is futile. But I'm sure I'll keep doing it. Someone has to bring a chuckle into His life.

Snags and Snafus and Schedules

I can't believe it's been a month since my last blog entry! It is springtime and that is a busy travel time for Larry and I. Since it is his slow time at work, we take advantage of it and GO! So far we have worked in a cruise and a visit to North Carolina. More on those events in later posts. The other news centers around the home front.

Some people see spring cleaning as the time to dust, vacuum and wash everything in a room. We ended up just redoing the room. Actually, we have two major projects going on and although I tried to space them out, as construction projects go, all scheduled plans went Ker-Flooey and everyone descended at the same time! Roofers, cabinet makers, granite installers...that's what was buzzing at our house.

Project 1: A new roof. Last summer our neighborhood was hit with a violent hail storm that left much of us with damage to cars, roofs, and siding. For us, it was just roof damage since, thankfully, our cars were safely tucked away in the garage.

Now that the weather is warmer, roofers are busy in the neighborhood.

Project 2: A Kitchen Upgrade

Since we've lived in the house one of my biggest complaints was about the kitchen layout. The design plan was awkward and chopped up. When one of my neighbors told me about the great deal she got for a granite upgrade I started thinking seriously about making some changes. After some discussion Larry and I agreed to remove the kitchen desk, add some cabinets and much needed counter space, and convert to granite.

Now some wise man, (or perhaps comedian) once said "If you want to see God laugh, tell Him your plans". The same could be said of contractors and construction workers. I carefully scheduled the cabinet makers, the granite installers, the plumber, and the roofers. Each one had their own day, and the kitchen would be out of service for only one night. Easy peasy! I was ready.

Well, I may have been ready, but everyone else? Not so much. The Cabinets due Monday, came on Tuesday. The granite due Wednesday didn't show. Somehow they had the wrong date on their calendar. Would it be ok if they came on Saturday? (Well....sure...why not). Call the plumber! (He was due Thursday.) The plumber couldn't reschedule until the next Tuesday. (So much for having the kitchen out of commission only one night!) Friday was roofing day. We were up early, and we waited. And  waited. The shingles arrived mid-morning, but no roofers. We waited some more. 3:00 pm we got the phone call. They were running behind. They would be there on Saturday.

Saturday dawned bright and sunny, with the birds singing outside the bedroom window. By 9am we wouldn't have heard a tornado with the all the racket up on the roof. Inside, the kitchen was being dismantled. Outside, the lawn was buried under tarps, shingles, and....well you get the picture. People driving by on the road had to dodge work trucks where the granite guys had set up shop. Maggie tried to find a quiet hole for her nap and the rest of us just tried to hunker down wherever we could.

Today it is all done. The roofers are gone and the new roof looks great. The plumber finally made it so we once again have running water and a functioning dishwasher. The kitchen is complete. And Wow! What a difference! I love it. We have never been the kind of people to remodel or even do periodic upgrades on our homes. But this time we were right. Not only does this kitchen really fit the house, it enhances the house.

 

 

Of course, as in all good planning, there were a few snags. When the cabinets were put in, I realized the one thing I had missed (believe me...I spent weeks trying to make sure I had everything covered) was that one electrical outlet was too low and would be covered up by the backsplash. Then when the granite was delayed I was annoyed....until I realized the bright side. Thanks to that scheduling snafu, I had time to have the outlet moved.

Sometimes life just works out right, even when it doesn't follow your schedule. (I'm pretty sure there is a Biblical truth somewhere in there.)