Which Route

 

“What route should be take?” said my husband looking at the new road atlas.

“That’s up to you,” I said. “You’re driving.”

At that moment I realized my husband and I had just played out a scenario enacted by my parents over and over, years ago. Except my mom frequently chose the route. She was navigator in the family.

Several times I tried to be navigator but with seven children to be on-call for, it was more efficient to be the stewardess. Sometimes one of the older children sat in the front passenger seat of the station wagon or nine passenger van or SUV or suburban and acted as navigator. It soon became a teaching tool.

A million miles of trip travel, a thousand destinations, a hundred scary situations … yet we continue to travel, choosing the same route for comfort or choosing a new route for adventure or being given an alternate route because of the Orange Cone Prophesy.

I have gathered stories:

-          The Breakdown in Beloit

-          Stuck in a Dry Wash While Looking for Petroglyphs

-          When the Truck Expired (parts 1,2, and 3)

-          Engine on Fire

-          Waiting It Out Under the Highway 35 Bridge

-          The Ice Road Outside Indianapolis

-          Slippery, Slippery Road

-          So Hot

-          Cramming 10 People in a Nova

-          Dust Storm over Texas

-          Will We Make It

-          High Winds

-          What a Lovely Park

-          The Guy Who Couldn’t Stop Talking

-          Let’s Go Home

-          And many, many more

Stay tuned, I’m sure I’ll remember more … like the one about being stuck behind a herd of sheep …

 

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I'm short

I’m short.

I’m short about five dollars. Can you help me?

I shorted the measurement, now I have to go get another 2x4.

He was three inches short of the long-jump record.

You shorted me on the material. Now I need it cut again.

Life is short.

Pain is shorter.

Short on patience

 Short on time

-

I’ve always been short, the shortest one in class, the shortest one on staff, the shortest one on the team, the shortest one in choir. The shortest.

But through the years I’ve made it work. And I have spoken with other short people who have found the same secrets.

Like in basketball. I loved playing basketball in grade school. I was 4’9”, but I was good. I wasn’t ever going to be tall enough for center, but I made a mean guard. And, as you know, guards guard. That’s what they do. They guard the ball, guard the forwards, guard the center … and steal the ball. Because I was short, I played from a different perspective and spotted holes in the defense of the other team. My favorite game memory was when I stole the ball from the opponent’s forward, spun around and made a lay-up that won the game. At that moment, I knew being short could be an advantage.

Recently, I held a job at Hobby Lobby (a store created for tall people). I was short (5’2”), but I’m fairly certain my manager was at least an inch shorter. I marveled at how she managed to stock shelves, move boxes, run the conveyor, unload the trucks, and out-negotiate irritable customers (all who were taller than she). Her shortness was a fine art. She became my hero. If she could do those things, then so could I – given a few more months of practice. And I did. My most pleasant memory was when my coworkers stopped arguing with me when I went up the ladder to grab overstock. They didn’t realize that being short meant a lower center of gravity and I was probably safer up there than they were.

At times, my shortness seemed like a disability. When the neighborhood kids played red-rover or kickball I was last to be chosen. As a choir member I was always placed in the front row. Some rides at Disneyland and local fairs were off-limits to me.

And then there were the jokes …

But looking back, I wouldn’t change a thing. I learned self-reliance, resilience, determination, and how to be a monkey. There’s no school that can teach that, only necessity.

I have lots more short stories, but I’ll save them for the future memoir.

 

Go check out what others wrote about SHORT.

But God

 

OUTCOME

The outcome was all good.

The outcome was better than expected.

No one could have predicted the outcome.

It was a list of inputs and outcomes.

-

The outcome was better than I expected, but that’s probably because I always prepare for the worst and am overjoyed by the best.

Our mom had big debt, and we worried about paying it off as she aged. But God allowed her neighborhood to flourish and grow in value. Once her house sold, debts were paid with even some left over. I did not think that was possible.

Given the struggles our marriage has gone through and the trouble our children have had over the years, I would not have imagined this present outcome of our pleasant home, our growing successful family, and our solid marriage. God is so good.

As we struggled with bills 30 years ago, I had almost given up hope of us realizing our dream of having a small place out in the country. But here we are and the steps we followed to get here are pure God – no one would have predicted the outcome. In fact, the predictions were quite the opposite.

When the bad times came during our homeschooling years, I questioned our decision to sacrifice certain things to educate our children at home. But the outcomes have been way beyond amazing. We are so blessed.

I will be forever thankful that God holds the outcome.

 

“The horse is prepared for the day of battle,

But the victory belongs to the Lord.”

-          Proverbs 21:31

“For nothing will be impossible with God.”

-          Luke 1:37

 

FMF