I'm odd. Not odd like you want to run and hide yourself or your wallet from me odd. I'm just funny, ha, ha odd. Things strike me funny that might not necessarily make someone else laugh, but they do make me laugh. I think that God enjoys a laugh once in a while too sometimes. I don't think He sits there and orchestrates every little thing that happens in people's lives. There is one instance, however, where I think that He had a twinkle in His eye and saw an opportunity that He just couldn't resist.....
It happened on a frigid Christmas Eve night back in the late 90's. One of our local parishes used to have a live nativity in the barn right next to the rectory. On that night, I drove there straight from work. It was a very cold day but when the sun went down, and the wind whipped up, it got quite blustery outside, so I dashed from my car, down the steps and into the barn. There were a few people inside, but because of the cold they bustled away and left me in there alone. The inside is set up so that when you step through the door you walk into an area that has waist-high shelves with bales of hay underneath them. They are against the three walls~ behind you, to your left and in front of you. To your right, the wall is about 15' away and that is where the animals graze. A 3' fence keeps them in that enclosure and that juts out of the larger barn doors and down the driveway so that the animals have some space to roam. On a cold night like this, though, they were nestled under the stage area, on which the nativity scene was, and huddled around the interior of the barn, rather than outside. Standing in there, looking at the nativity, feeling the air, being engulfed by the silence, is an amazing experience. I stood there for a few moments just breathing in the smell of the hay and letting the stress of the work day evaporate from me.
It was while I was standing there that I noticed several pieces of mail sitting on the shelf right in front of me. One of them was opened and the letter was just lying there for me to see. It was from a large chain store giving them a discount. I pushed the envelopes around with my gloved finger and there were quite a few of them, but, there was one envelope, unopened, that I could clearly see the address from and well, that one really intrigued me...
I just stood there and looked at it. While standing there I shifted my weight from one leg to the other and cocked my head. My finger reaching up to stroke my chin while I contemplated why they were there in the first place. I had that little niggling nagging going on in my head. Open it, it said. Nobody will know it was you, it said. On the other hand I had another little voice saying, it's none of your business. Leave it alone. Don't touch it. Decisions, decisions. I was so engrossed in my own thoughts that everything around me became unfocused and my fingers now lingered over the mail and my fingertips pushed it around again. I was probably standing there for a full 3 minutes and finally, just as my hand was closing around that one envelope, a sound EXPLODED in my ear...
MAAAAARRREEEE!!! MAAAAARRRREEEE!
I almost shot out of my high heeled shoes. Standing next to me, with his head hung over the fence, was the largest freaking goat I had ever seen. I was so engrossed, I never saw it coming.
Of course, instantaneously I knew that I was about to do something wrong, so I looked up and said, "well played, God. I get it." I scampered out of there like the place was on fire.
When I was leaving, I scooped the mail up in my hands and rang the doorbell of the rectory. It was safely deposited into the hands of the priest that answered the door. Of course, I roared with laughter all the way home, after the shock wore off. In fact, it still makes me laugh all of these years later and I do love to share it too as I am doing here.
I think it was one time that God did say HA to me. How else would the goat know my name? Just kidding folks! Get it? KIDding. Okay, I'll stop now.
True story and one that I think will put a smile on your face. Have a fabulous week and give someone else a smile. There seems to be a LOT of people that need one these days.
Peace
Mare
It happened on a frigid Christmas Eve night back in the late 90's. One of our local parishes used to have a live nativity in the barn right next to the rectory. On that night, I drove there straight from work. It was a very cold day but when the sun went down, and the wind whipped up, it got quite blustery outside, so I dashed from my car, down the steps and into the barn. There were a few people inside, but because of the cold they bustled away and left me in there alone. The inside is set up so that when you step through the door you walk into an area that has waist-high shelves with bales of hay underneath them. They are against the three walls~ behind you, to your left and in front of you. To your right, the wall is about 15' away and that is where the animals graze. A 3' fence keeps them in that enclosure and that juts out of the larger barn doors and down the driveway so that the animals have some space to roam. On a cold night like this, though, they were nestled under the stage area, on which the nativity scene was, and huddled around the interior of the barn, rather than outside. Standing in there, looking at the nativity, feeling the air, being engulfed by the silence, is an amazing experience. I stood there for a few moments just breathing in the smell of the hay and letting the stress of the work day evaporate from me.
It was while I was standing there that I noticed several pieces of mail sitting on the shelf right in front of me. One of them was opened and the letter was just lying there for me to see. It was from a large chain store giving them a discount. I pushed the envelopes around with my gloved finger and there were quite a few of them, but, there was one envelope, unopened, that I could clearly see the address from and well, that one really intrigued me...
I just stood there and looked at it. While standing there I shifted my weight from one leg to the other and cocked my head. My finger reaching up to stroke my chin while I contemplated why they were there in the first place. I had that little niggling nagging going on in my head. Open it, it said. Nobody will know it was you, it said. On the other hand I had another little voice saying, it's none of your business. Leave it alone. Don't touch it. Decisions, decisions. I was so engrossed in my own thoughts that everything around me became unfocused and my fingers now lingered over the mail and my fingertips pushed it around again. I was probably standing there for a full 3 minutes and finally, just as my hand was closing around that one envelope, a sound EXPLODED in my ear...
MAAAAARRREEEE!!! MAAAAARRRREEEE!
I almost shot out of my high heeled shoes. Standing next to me, with his head hung over the fence, was the largest freaking goat I had ever seen. I was so engrossed, I never saw it coming.
Of course, instantaneously I knew that I was about to do something wrong, so I looked up and said, "well played, God. I get it." I scampered out of there like the place was on fire.
When I was leaving, I scooped the mail up in my hands and rang the doorbell of the rectory. It was safely deposited into the hands of the priest that answered the door. Of course, I roared with laughter all the way home, after the shock wore off. In fact, it still makes me laugh all of these years later and I do love to share it too as I am doing here.
I think it was one time that God did say HA to me. How else would the goat know my name? Just kidding folks! Get it? KIDding. Okay, I'll stop now.
True story and one that I think will put a smile on your face. Have a fabulous week and give someone else a smile. There seems to be a LOT of people that need one these days.
Peace
Mare
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| No, this is not my "friend". My friend retired from acting in the early 2000's. |
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