Church Ladies: Sweet and Sour



It dawned on my Sunday evening that I hadn't seen my Kindle in a while.  I've been off e-reader for a few weeks because I've been reading books I've gotten from the library.  I started to look for it in the usual places I leave it around my apartment.  Then I started to look for it in the unusual places I might have weirdly left it in the apartment.

I started to get upset.  This is the second time I have misplaced my Kindle. I think of it like a book, which it absolutely is not.  But I don't have the same presence of mind with it as I do with my phone.  Anyway, I texted a few friends whom I had visited in the last couple of weeks, and they hadn't seen it either.  I usually bring it to church because I have a bible on it and I like not carrying the big book with me all the time.  So I called the reception desk and a very sweet southern accent greeted me.

I asked whether or not there was a "Lost and Found" for the church, and if so, could I be directed to it? The nice lady told me that there wasn't a body on staff dedicated to overseeing that but that SHE oversees it as much as she can and SHE would go look for the item.  What was it she should be looking for?

"My kindle, with a black cover."
"Oh Lord, why on EARTH did you bring your Kindle to church?? You should be shot."
......
.....
"I guess I'm just sort of absent-minded these days."
"Well my best friend brought her Kindle to church a few weeks ago and she left it and she NEVER got it back.  I want to tell you that we almost never recover these things. I don't want to say that someone took it... but it certainly could and DOES happen.  I told her over and over not to bring that thing to church to use for her bible, but did she listen? No she didn't.  She just kept bringing it and then she lost it.  She was so upset about it.  Well, I will go and check the box but I'm pretty sure I won't find it.  But you know I could go and see if the ushers found it. We had to do a full-clean out because we'll be in a different location this coming weekend so that's another option. I will go and check the box now if you don't mind holding for a minute."
"Of course."
a few minutes pass
"I'm so sorry to tell you that I did not find the Kindle in the box.  I'm so very sorry I didn't find it for you.  But let's just pray right now that we will find the Kindle. Lord Jesus, you know where that iPad, or device, thing, whatever it is, you know where it is.  I know you know where it is and I think you want us to find it.  I just pray that you would lead us to its location and that you would help us recover it.  In the precious name of Jesus, Amen."
"Thank you for praying for me."
"You have a blessed day. Bye now."

So at that point I was pretty convinced that I was not going to find my silly Kindle.  I was also sort of shocked at the 180 she had just pulled.  She sounded quite upset with me that I lost my Kindle at church, maybe moreso that it had been brought there in the first place. I was even lamenting the loss to a friend last night.  Before I went to bed though, I suddenly thought what if I left it at the gym? Now, truth be told, I haven't been going to gym a lot lately, and it's been quite some time since I brought my kindle with me.  So I woke up in the morning, and it was the first thought I had again, so I called over there and sure enough, they had it!  Now, I do believe in the power of prayer, and that God cares about even the tiniest, littlest things.  And this is just evidence of that.  But I thought it was pretty hilarious that the woman who condemned me to a firing squad for bringing an e-reader to church ended up being the key to me finding it again, and a sweet reminder to trust God in absolutely everything.

Well, isn't that special.


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Last day of Classes, Good Friday, and the first 24 hours in Istanbul!

Image
First thing’s first: I AM DONE WITH GRAD SCHOOL! I have turned in all my papers, finished all my classes, passed comps, and completed all my presentations. It feels great to come home at night and not have schoolwork to think about. About two months ago, my cousin Cara and I were talking about her upcoming trip to Istanbul. She told me about her great set up and it sounded like it would be a great way to celebrate the completion of my Masters degree. So I bought my ticket for the day after my last class. After two months of craziness involving much more than just school and work, I am now on the other side and looking at job searching, apartment searching, and just figuring out the next general steps for life. I am so excited to see what unfolds. Since there is very little certainty in my life, it’s probably best I just stick to writing about what I know, and that is mainly what has already happened. So I will do my best to recount the even...
Read more

Spoke Too Soon

Yesterday after returning from the Prefecture (french DMV, just as badas the US) after an unsuccessful attempt at registering the car, I found that the house had been broken into and that my computer, computer bag, iPod and case and headphones, camera had all been stolen. They tried to take the TV but they either didn't have time or decided it was too heavy. I'm pretty sure that when I got back and pulled into the house they were still there and had to hide and that's why they left the TV. So life in Martinique is set back quite a few steps. Everytime I move forward here, something else comes along. I'm tired of it. I had locked the house up tight and made sure that everything was closed because Marie-Ange had warned me about other robberies in the area. They got me. Add another B to the list: buses, bats, bees, burglars.
Read more

The Grand Tour of Martinique for Beginners

Image
So on Friday, Sarah Caitlin and I went to Sainte-Anne. It’s referred to as t he most beautiful beach in Martinique. It’s on the very southern tip of the island and true to it’s description in the guide books, has soft, powdery white sand and turquoise waters with calm waves lapping at the shore. We left early in the morning and got there in about an hour. I hadn’t gone running tha t morning because I thought I might be able to go at the beach. Boy, was that a good decision. Before we got to the beach I had seen that there was a good system o f foot trails all around the southern tip connecting several beaches over about 20 miles. It wasn’t all continuous but the beach where we were going, there was a good 5k trail from our beach to the next one up that went across what is known in Martinique as “Les Sables de Petrification” or the petrified sand. It was described to me as a lunar landscape. I was kind of excited to see it and even if I couldn’t run it, I decided I would at leas...
Read more