Do you remember the scene from Evan Almighty in the diner when Morgan Freeman, cast as God, explained that when you pray for patience, He gives you opportunities to be patient? Yeah, in my life that concept seems pretty dead on.
After extensive planning and packing and preparations for our recent camping vacation, I was ready. Ready for every situation, ready for every meal, ready for all the fun. Ready. But just when we think we’re ready seems to be the time that something unexpected comes up.
The clouds began to hover and darken the skies. Not a light, airy color grey, but the kind of grey that is just about two shades away from black. We looked around our campsite and began to scramble to get everything under cover. Thank goodness we had the blessing of our borrowed motor home to keep us dry! The awning extended our shelter by about five feet and we were able to get everything huddled up under it before the clouds fully unleashed.
Dinner was cooked and warming on our tiny table-top grill before the rain came, and it somehow made it inside with us amidst all the chaos. We lit a candle and sat down to eat. Rattling windows and the thumping of raindrops on the metal rooftop provided our musical accompaniment. Half a corn cob cleared and a few bites of my mustard drizzled and slightly charred turkey sausage down, when the sound of ratcheting gears squealed in my ears.
One glimpse of the billowing awning flapping in the aggressive wind gusts and it was clear that we had to act fast. We ran out the door to survey and solve the situation. I was pretty sure the thick protective fabric wasn’t supposed to bow outward like a sail on a boat.
{Quick flash here of the RV being lifted and pulled through the sky, heading God knows where.}
Did I mention we borrowed the blessed motorhome? We did. And a few thoughts flooded my head in that moment…
1. You break it, you buy it.
2. We have no blooming idea how to work this blowing and billowing awning.
The next few minutes are kind of a blur, as we fumbled around, standing on stumps to get a better look at the ratcheted gears that took the brunt of the blustery wind. The kind of fumbling that has you trying everything while getting soaked as nothing seems to work. The kind of fumbling that prompts you to search for the thing you will hang onto when the time comes to be a human tether, keeping the 30-plus foot home on wheels from meeting the munchkins in the Emerald City. Because that’s where all the wind-blown things go.
This was a moment of low-grade panic and high-intensity urgency. This is the type of moment you cannot be ready for. This is also the kind of moment that rarely is blessed with patience, in my experience. Like the blowing wind, my patience flew right out the window. Gone in the times when I need it most. Always.
Our stressful and silly situation was resolved, but my need to be ready for everything and my inability to summon patience when it’s most needed, is still unresolved. The one thing I do know is that this was an opportunity to practice patience, and perhaps that means that my prayers had been answered. Amen!
Breaking the five-minute rules on this one, and it’s Saturday, but still linking up with Five Minute Friday. Our promoted topic today is “ready”.
Tris Bendickson 