The few of you who checked in yesterday may have wondered what happened to the regular post. Personally, I was curious about the same thing.
I slept in late Wednesday morning. I’d stayed up late the night before dealing with way too many thoughts swirling around my head. I eventually fell asleep listening to a Mitch Hedberg comedy CD; which helped me relax, but probably added to the kookiness of my subconscious.
The sun eventually rose, and several hours after that, so did I. Unlike the sun, I immediately sank back down. The regular war with the snooze alarm commenced. Many bad thoughts were directed at the clock, but since I kept falling back asleep, I didn’t have the time to follow through on any of them.
Anyway, I eventually threw the covers off and sat crouched on my knees. Some days I hold this position for a while before continuing on with my day as my brain slowly catches up with the rest of my body. Since this is a good position for prayer, I often start my most coherent prayers of the day. I remember praying for guidance, strength and God’s timing.
Shortly after that, I rolled off my water bed, grabbed some clothes, my cell phone, and shower and grooming stuff (since I usually emerge from the bathroom fully dressed and ready to go to work, excepting the shoes I left to dry/be toasty by the heating vent).
One I thought I was done with that, I grabbed my backpack, threw some food in it (I’d finished a box of crackers the previous day and wanted to restock my supply), and headed toward the door.
“Going already?” My roommate asked me.
I told him I’d slept in late and just wanted to get out the door.
He said he was leaving shortly and would give me a ride if I wanted, but I told him I thought I was best off going on my own. I thanked him for the ride, told him I’d probably see him at work, and started trudging the mile towards downtown.
I got nearly two-thirds of the way there when I realized I’d forgotten my wallet and keys.
In picking up items to take with me in the bathroom, I’d left my wallet by my bed where it had dropped the night before (or at least I was 92 percent sure that’s where I’d left it).
That meant I was without my library card, cash to buy lunch, house keys, and photo identification (which seemed more important after my previous police stop). Groaning to myself, I turned around and started to hike back up the street. I thought about calling my roommate, but decided I didn’t want to bother him.
A little bit later, I turned the final corner to see the house. My roommate’s vehicle was gone and the door was securely locked. Only then did I call my roommate. Several rings later, I was talking to one of the blank voice mail boxes where you hear the number repeated back to you with no name.
Now I was second guessing myself, because I’d never called my roommate on my cell before. I’d only programmed the number the previous night (I’d always had to flip through several dozen pages of notebook notes to pull out the digits on earlier occasions). Also, considering the slight case of dyslexia I have when it comes to numbers – coupled with a short attention span that doesn’t always double check things – I’ve been known to incorrectly program a number (as was a recent case when I dialed a greater St. Louis area number, but most certainly did not hear the voice of the person I was expecting; and by the tone, the voice certainly wasn’t expecting me, either).
I left a quick message about forgetting my wallet and keys, asking him to grab them if he had the chance and that I’d probably see him at work since there wasn’t much to do in a soggy front yard (damp from all the largely receded snow drifts). I hung up, waited a couple minutes, and started retracing my steps, again.
On the walk back, I started to review my day, as short as it had been. Every step I had taken to “save” time had only served to waste more time. At several points, simply pausing for a few seconds would have saved me much energy and trouble (especially since all this marching around on an empty stomach was starting to take its toll).
Slowly my thoughts were drawn back to the prayer that started my day. I had asked for God’s timing. Why then was I surprised when all my efforts to block out my own day had failed?
I started to smile at this thought, and at that moment my cell phone rang. It was my roommate. He had gotten my message and was heading back to get my wallet. Was I still at the house, he asked.
I sighed and told him I was over near the cemetery and the old nursing school (about 150 meters from the point where I had first noticed my wallet was missing).
After a couple minutes, he picked me up, unlocked the house, and gave me a ride to my favorite downtown dinner. I had become more interested in food (and specifically a chocolate malt) than going to work early or going by the library.
Anyway, while I’m sure God didn’t maliciously cause me to forget my wallet, I’m thankful for the lesson I got out of it. Sometimes all our efforts at forcing something are better spent waiting for His timing to come to fruition.
And I also learned chocolate malts taste even better after a morning of hiking.
Granted, both were lessons I already knew, but little reminders like that are appreciated.
