June 21st, 2013

Hey, everyone!

Welcome to summer! I know lately it's been hot at times but you've officially only enjoyed the "good ol' summertime" since about 1:43 a.m…Which makes today the longest day (sunshine-wise) of the year! So you'll be able to stay out on the golf course, keep on mowing,  or work in the garden 'til about 8:30 or so! And on behalf of your tomatoes, "Thanks for all you do!" 

Speaking of golf, the other day…Wednesday, to be exact…I had one of those days when I felt just like Tiger Woods! In fact I felt like him and Peyton Manning and Shaquille O'neil, rolled up into one! It wasn't exactly because I hit a 340 yard drive or threw a 70 yard strike to the end-zone…It was because I had noticed, while watching sports on TV, that those guys all encourage us to buy Buicks. And yet, my bet (I may be wrong!) is that those three, in all probability,  don't actually drive Buicks. So, it's possible that they may be asking us to do something that they don't actually do themselves. 

Which brings it home to me. I've been encouraging y'all to come to our Four Wednesdays series that we're having, and on this last Wednesday, I didn't even come myself! Just like Tiger, Peyton, and Shaq, I feel like I was trying to get you to do something I didn't actually do! 

There was a reason I couldn't be there, however. A BIG reason!

It all started about 4:30 that afternoon…and I wasn't sure when it was going to stop!

Tim Bowerman was helping me in an awesome way on my roof over the ol' farmhouse down in OS. I noticed that there were a bunch of bees and wasps buzzing' around. Then one noticed me. I also noticed it. We noticed each other. I'm sure he or she was thinking, "Should I? Should I not?…What the heck! Let's do it!"

Bam! Right in the kisser! ("One of these days, Alice!") 

I mean, he or she stung me so hard right on that upper lip, it crossed and watered my eyes and took my breath away! And I knew that wasn't the end of it! Only the beginning!

That lip started to swell and swell and SWELLLLL! Before long, I looked like a cross between Daffy Duck and "every Who down in Whoville"! "Is it gonna stop?" I wondered…"What if I can't drive because that lip's smushed up against the windshield?…What if I can't get my T-shirt over my head?…What if all my food falls out because 13 inches is as close as my lips can get to one another?…"

I texted Tina (as soon as I could see) and told her to please bring home some Benadryl. And I told her to get her heart prepared for what she was going to see. Well, she wasn't really ready for it…

When she got out of her car and looked at me, she started to…

"Gasp and faint?"

Nope.

"Weep for shock?"

Not quite. 

She actually started laughing soooo hard that tears began to flow! And she was trying to not! She looked away, worked up a sympathy face with all her might, and then looked into mine…Busting with laughter! The side-splitting, leg-crossing kind! 

Actually, I did too. 

It was hilarious! My lip was so big, my talking was crazy! 

 "Bdo youb bthink itb blooks btoo funnby tob gob bto Fourb BWednesdabs?" …

 And it was funny because there was something that we both knew…

We both knew it'll be back to normal soon!

In a few hours or maybe a day, it'd just be a story, a picture, or a Friday CCC email! 

If we thought I was stuck that way forever, there would have been no laughing then! Not even a chuckle! If I had to warn kids when I was coming, or ask the photographer to back up so he could get all my face in the picture, for the rest of my life, it would have been super tough to face! But we knew it was just for a moment…

I guess it's all how you look at it…How you look at time and how you see forever. Moses says that one thousand years is like one day to God (Psalm 90). No matter how long we're down here, compared to Heaven's clock, it's just for a little while! That's why Paul can say that any and all of our troubles…and his were some tough stuff!…are "just for a moment"! (2 Corinthians 4) And Peter says that "it's just for a little while"! (1 Peter 5)  

I have a friend who had a super puffy face once. He was on steroids because of chemotherapy he was facing. It seemed he suffered for a long time. But it wasn't long in Eternity's timetable! And he's been in Heaven for years! And his face isn't just normal again…It's radiant and glorious!! 

Bmy faceb isb almost bback bto normal…itb won't bbe loongb bnow!