Isn’t it ironic?

It is mid-late Monday morning. As usual, in my current rather unstructured life, I am just getting my day and week organized. As usual, I have a “to do” list which includes the things I must do today along with several things I would like to get accomplished along with some things that have little chance of getting done today, but I don’t want to forget that I need to get to them sometime, so there they are. Happy with my impossibly long list, I look out my back window on my way to the kitchen for more coffee. Noticing the bright, cloudless sunshine reflecting on my clear patch of deck, I think I will go OUTSIDE to expose my ultra white thighs to a little sun before my beach weekend in 4 days while I accomplish one of my list items that could be done anywhere. It seems hard for me to grab time to “lay out” (as we say here in Texas) because I live in a place where the houses were built into the woods with the idea of leaving the woods intact. I love my woodsy jungle-y “yard”, but there really isn’t much lawn, and even the back deck remains shaded most of the day. So for me to tan, I must be ready to go during the few hours that there is enough sun on my deck for my extended body, AND there must be no clouds, AND I must not be expecting anyone to come by (repairman, housekeeper, my family), AND it must not conflict with one of the times I must be out and about (church meetings, vet or dr appointments, all those errands I feel responsible for as I am “not working”…). I don’t really know why I make it so complicated, but I just do.

So instead of grabbing my towel, Bible, and journal and running straight outside, I pause here at the computer to check email and OpenDiary. I swear I am not here more than 10 minutes, when I hear a surprising sound. I turn around and look out the window: it is cloudy dark and raining! I can hardly believe my eyes! Was I just wishful thinking when I saw that bright day a few minutes ago? I click my computer over to the weather. Nope, it wasn’t my imagination: most of my part of the state is enjoying a very clear sky right now, but there is ONE isolated cloud (and rain, evidently) patch right over my house! Go figure!

This seems like a good place to share something else I had on my list to share with you.

During my ladies’ Bible study this spring, our new leader encouraged us one week to pick two Bible verses for ourselves, one for morning and one for evening. We wrote our chosen verses on an index card, and for the following week we were to keep the card by our bed, meditating on our chosen verses “first thing” when we awoke and “last thing” when we were going to sleep. I found myself memorizing these two verses in my sleepy state, much to my surprise as I have not actually memorized any Bible verses since I was in jr high! Pleased with this experience, after about 2 weeks I felt ready to tackle two new verses, so one Monday morning, I prayerfully selected my new verses. I wrote them on a card and placed the card next to my pillow.

Later that same Monday, my Labrador and I tried to get a little exercise, as the rain of the past 3 days had finally called a cease fire. We parked at the school, sent MS inside for his half-hour clarinet lesson, and took off down the hike-&-bike trail, figuring we would go out for 15 minutes and turn back — however far that might be. About 14 minutes into our jog, we met another lady with her 2 similarly big dogs going the opposite direction. She left the trail ahead of us to go around a little copse of trees, giving my dog and me more room. I called out to her that this was not necessary, as it was time for us to turn around anyway, but it was too late. She was already off the trail and into the slick, clay-slippery grass. Maybe her dogs didn’t like my shouting at her, or perhaps they are just grouchy (she did try to avoid us, after all), but as they passed us on the other side of the brush, they broke free of her. Feet slipping on the wet grass, she was knocked to her butt as her snarling dogs charged through the brush at us, leashes trailing unattached to their owner behind them. As I was backing us away (leaving the trail sideways) from their approach, my Lab wheeled around me in a protective gesture, which knocked me off of my now-in-the-mud feet, twisting my ankle under me as I went down. That is how I sprained my ankle, 4 weeks ago today. By the time I limped back to the school and had my driver-permit son drive me home, the ankle was swelling terribly over both sides of my shoe. It turned out to be a “high” sprain — not broken, but perhaps just as painful. I wore an orthopedic boot for 2½ weeks and still keep it Ace-bandage-wrapped. Anyway, I am getting to the funny part.

The next morning, I reached groggy-brained for my index card. As I read my “new” verse for the morning, I started laughing out loud as I lay in bed! I had totally forgotten what I had picked, and I hope you enjoy the irony as much as I did, so here is my new verse:

Psalm 37:30-31
“The mouth of the righteous man utters wisdom, and his tongue speaks what is just. The law of his God is in his heart; HIS FEET DO NOT SLIP.”