A kid, a cat, and some stepped on toes...

I know I've been cynical regarding my job lately. I think cynical is good sometimes. It shows we still have a pulse and that we still care. It's been a tough couple of years around here with furloughs, new mandates, and a ridiculous amount of new paperwork.  Well today a kid and a cat gave me a new outlook. It happened in a crazy way.


Ali Grace went to her first sleepover with friends at Magnolia Springs and Pete went hunting in Baxley with his old friends from ABAC. This left the house to just Addie and me. Dangerous combination. We had planned to get up and go see Secretariat this morning since it was just the two of us. Addie got up and wanted to go to church instead. I have to admit I was not in the mood. I'm exhausted. I'm frustrated with work and the world in general, and really I wanted to just see a mindless Disney movie and take it easy today. Addie crossed her arms and insisted that she wanted to go to church. I finally relented.


When I got to church I realized that we had a guest minister and pouted for a minute. I'm not usually a fan of guest ministers.  I'm thinking at this point that Secretariat would have been much better. Before church even started,  Addie has her bible opened to the book of Luke but she pretends she's reading the story of the Moses and the burning bush, which happens to be her all time favorite. I'm still pouting. 


The service started with the choir singing "Peace in the Valley".  Who can pout when someone sings that????  Anyhow, when the guest minister began to preach, I became completely riveted by what he was saying. I swear that man was talking to me. It was like he knew I was coming there and he knew what I needed to hear. You know how some ministers have a way of stepping on your toes without hurting them TOO much? This man had that talent to a tee. I swear it freaked me out. He even looked at me like he was seriously having a conversation with just me.


He told a story about a cat his son had brought home. He hated cats and one day cranked his car with the cat under the hood. After spending a fortune at the vet, he had to bandage and rebandage and rebandage the cat's leg. The cat didn't want the bandage and didn't understand that his owner was trying to help him. He didn't understand that he needed these bandages. The point was made. We are called to bandage and bandage and bandage again if necessary. I heard what I needed to hear. Many of my students don't want help. They don't understand how important their education is, and most of the time I spend more time pushing paper than actually working with students, but that is beside the point. I truly felt today that God was reminding me of what I was called to do. 


The last hymn was "Here I Am, Lord".  One verse of the song says "Who will bear my light to them? Whom shall I send?"  Okay. I get it. I'm going back to work Monday with a better attitude. I'm still not sure what the future holds, but I know I have to go about it with a better vision and a better attitude. There IS a reason why I'm here. I believe that. It took a 5 year old and a crazy cat story to remind me of that. 


On a funnier note, I ordered a tee shirt this week that shows a circle and a line tangent to the circle. The shirt says "CHECK OUT MY TAN LINE"  Now THAT is funny. I don't care who you are! Have a good week everyone. Be kind to each other. It's rough out there.