It was one of those days. I woke up with a crick in my neck. You know the kind, where you can’t turn your head. I could only look to the left. To look to the right I had to turn my whole body. That’s why I didn’t see the Lego. As I got out of bed I stepped on a Lego that our granddaughter had left on the floor.
Nothing hurts more than stepping on a Lego with bare feet – except maybe snapping a cricked neck around to see what has penetrated your foot.
It’s hard to shave with a neck crick and a Lego in your foot, too. My wife said I looked like I was trying to do the tango with myself, hopping on one foot turning my body back and forth to see what I was slicing off my face.
The day went downhill from there. I backed out of the garage with the hatchback up. It folds over the top of the car quite nicely. I didn’t look back because of the crick in my neck.
Ever have a day like that?
I have found these words to be very encouraging:
Your worst days are never so bad that you are beyond the reach of God’s grace. And your best days are never so good that you are beyond the need of God’s grace.
Please comment. I want to hear about one of THOSE days in your life! Readers will enjoy your story!
Make this day a good one!!!
Comments
Great post! Remembering that God’s grace is all encompassing is really freeing. Tomorrow will be another day.
Good word Johathan
Thanks Ken. The importance of becoming a good ‘re-starter’ has struck me recently. Stopping may sometimes be inevitable but restarting is essential. Found that on posting to my blog, Also as a pastor.
Benn there, done that. I’m thinking of starting a club. Maybe YOU can help design the jackets? 🙂 Then maybe your wife will let you have one!
The bumble foot club????
More like the Parental Murphy’s Law club. When one thing goes wrong, it just keeps snowballing… Oh! and the jackets should look a little mangled, with legos on the pockets…PML for short (aka Pummel!)
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i remember being lost in Minn. and my dad had just gotten off the wrong exit. And so he decided quickly to back up the off ramp of a busy highway. (I do not recommend this) We survived this through God’s grace only to realize the car was still traveling in the wrong direction on the highway!
Glad you lived to tell about it Christopher.
Forget one of those days…this sounds like my life! But I am ever so grateful that we have a God who gives a special kind of “humor grace” and gives laughter in the midst of cricks in necks, legos and garage doors being backed into because the pull thingy on it gets stuck on the top of your mini van and you don’t know it so it pulls down behind you as you are backing out and now you’re stuck and you are supposed to be picking your husband up at the airport (deeep breath) (or something like that). Bless you! Debbie
Oh! Yeah! Sounds like we might be twins with the exception of the fact I don’t have a husband. Thanks for the story
Funny man 🙂
I love the funny moments in life, even when they dont seem funny at the time. One of “those days” for me was at my father’s funeral when a family member in their exuberance to greet another family member actually pushed me into two standing arrangements, (Dear Uncle and Beloved Brother). I stood there with gladiolas poking me in the head and roses jammed in my ear for about 5 minutes trying to figure out a graceful way to get out of the arrangements without causing a scene or, more importantly, knocking my father over as he laid there resting in peace. My godparents, convulsed in laughter, decided to come to the rescue (after almost falling off their chairs in hysterics) and reached actually into the arrangements to get me out. I was not a small child at the time, I was 32, so even the act of helping me caused half of the family to laugh out loud. My mother, oblivious to what had gone on, looked at me and say, “What’s the matter with you? Those flowers in your hair look ridiculous!” Apparently a few strands of baby’s breath had gotten lodged in my hair so I walked out of the room to fix the damage, saw my relfection and fell down laughing.
Only hope allows us to laugh in the face of sorrow. Thank you!
Thank you! needed some hysterics today – identify with the ‘crick’ in the neck. Woke up with very sore neck and shoulder muscles after my trek around the shopping center yesterday on crutches – just had to have an outing, after a small leg op and feeling the loss of contact with human beings after being stuck at home. Fortunately a temporary situation. Thank You, Jesus.
You are welcome Sus Glad you enjoyed the post. Thanks for the comment
You know if you never have a bad day how would you know when you are having a good day.
I way I see it, if you are on top of the grass it’s a good day, and the odds are you are having a better day than the bloke in the ambulance that just past you.
Stephen, I just checked. I’m on top of the grass. It’s a good day!
Thanks for the much needed encouragement Ken. I needed it these last couple of days.
Hope things are going bette for you Joe. I prayed for you today.
Thanks Ken. I appreciate the prayers. We made the decision to put our dog down on Saturday evening and did it Monday morning. It was rough man.
Perfect words for every day, Ken. Thanks! Hope your neck…your foot…your car is better.
Happened a long time ago. My children are now stepping on their children’s Legos. Which by the way gives me a perverse sense of joy! Thanks Julie
Many years ago when living in Colorado, we had one of those sprinklers that went “chick chick chick” as it rotated back and forth. I’d been in the garage and planned to try and get to the backdoor of the house before the rotation made it’s way back to that part of the yard. So on a 1-2-3 countdown I made a dash for it (in my bare feet, I should add). My little toe made contact with one of the border bricks along the sidewalk. The pain brought me to my knees, and while down there, the “chick chick chick” of the sprinkler gave me a good soaking. It was obvious I’d broken that little toe and couldn’t walk on that foot. So I tried hopping the rest of the way on the other foot, fell once again as the sprinkler took yet another pass, and managed to break the big toe of that foot. I crawled on my hands and knees up to the house. I was able to get a neighbor to take me to the hospital, but only after having to crawl over there because I didn’t have his phone number. At the hospital I was in so much pain. A sympathetic doctor asked me how in the world I’d managed to do all that damage. So I told him the story. The nurse and doctor were doubled over in laughter very quickly and not paying any attention to their patient, in terrible pain. My big regret is that nobody happened to video it, because I probably could have sent the thing in and made enough money to go to Hawaii on vacation. I’ve always wanted to do that.
– Carol
I love this story and the pictures it brings to mind. My children and grandchildren have spent many happy hours trying to outrun the clicking lawn sprinkler. They still have all there toes. Thank you for the story Carol.
You can’t tell me that God doesn’t have a sense of humor about all this! I was sitting in my car waiting at a red light having a bad day. It was a humid day because it had rained about an hour ago, so I had the window barely cracked and was enjoying the respite of a shady tree while I waited.
What are the odds that an ice cold raindrop dropping down from a single leaf would fall towards my car, through that cracked window while my sleeve was up just enough for that sucker to land right in the hottest part of my armpit?
I almost swallowed my own tongue I gasped so hard- that was COLD.
No siree, you can’t tell me God doesn’t have sense of humor!
You asked us about our day? This was my day last week. I will explain that I live my life in a wheelchair because of Muscular Dystrophy. The rest you will understand.
Well, I have a wasp nest . . . over my front door. That’s right, right over my front
door. Now for those of you who know me well you already know I am highly allergic. Can you say anaphylaxis? I have had the throat close up . . . not
enough fun for me to want to do it again. But . . . back to the story. I open the door to let Lucky out for his afternoon – you know. Well this brave wasp thinks that it is more than ok to dive at me! Yes, he came after me! Well, little did he know I have my epi pen in my saddle bag! My thought was “BRING IT ON!”. How dare he decide to lay claim on my house! If he can’t pay the mortgage then he is NOT the boss. I can fix him!
What can I do? I can take care of this myself. OK before you call me I already know . . . not a wise decision. In my little mind I start to weigh the alternatives. I have lots of family around me. I could call one of them. But they are all working
and/or have their lives happening right now. I have great neighbors all around and they would tell me to call them. Again refer to the jobs and lives statement above. I don’t want to bother them. Here I am at (mumble mumble) years old and I can’t take out a wasp? I can do this!! I MUST do this!!
I go to the closet and get out my trusty can of Wasp spray and out the back door I go. (Hey, I am at least smart enough to not go out the front . . . give me SOME credit.) I grab the can (my second this year already) and out I go. I go around
the house and up the sidewalk. I keep the can out front. I can do this!! I CAN DO THIS!! I get into the right safe spot, shake the can real good and SPRAY!! Now, have I ever told you about my eyesight? It is bad. I can see large things – cars, buildings, bears – but can’t read anything. Apparently this last can of WASP spray was not really wasp spray. It was “Great Stuff”. When I picked up the can off the shelf I didn’t bother looking for my reading glasses. Yes, I do have about 20 pair spread all over the house but I never know where one is. Why would I want to waste time searching when what I needed to do was kill the wasp. Here I am, defeated and humiliated in my very own front yard. Woe is me. As I turn to go back around the house I am pretty sure I hear tiny little voices ringing out in laughter. I hate wasp!
I go back into the house and begin the search. I know I have a can of wasp spray somewhere. Why can’t I just think ahead and buy it by the case? But then again, I would probably come home with a case of Great Stuff. At last, I
find the can. It is almost empty but enough to do the deed. Back out I go – zooming around the house of 3 wheels, off to slay the dragon at my front door! By the time I get back around there the wasp are surprised to see me. I could tell by their beady little eyes. OK and by their laughter when they saw me coming back. I roll up on the front porch, can at the ready . . . reach down deep into my pocket and put my reading glasses on and recheck the label. I’m good! I can do this. Up goes the can again . . . I reach down deep into the other pocket and let my fingers feel the cool assurance of my epi pen. Ready . . . aim . . . wait, I need to shake it up again . . . deep breath . . . ready . . . aim . . . SPRAY!!!!!!!!! I am not sure who was more surprised, me or the wasp. One of them fell off backwards. I think he was so busy laughing he didn’t see the spray. Two more flew off a few feet and fell but the big one . . . he was still there and he was glaring at me. I knew, without being told, it was time to GO!
I turned my chair around and punched it!! The chair went into warp speed – 0 to 5 MPH in 2.2 seconds! I am out of here!!!! Did I tell you that my wheelchair is old and that it is in really bad “health”? It did get up to the 5 MPH before the motor shut off. These power chairs are made to lock up as soon as the motor quits. No slow down. No flashing light. Just dead stop. Remember your school days when they tried to explain to us that when a fast moving object is in full motion and then suddenly stopped – bad things could happen. It is true. As I begin to fly forward toward that hard, dirty, most uncomfortable looking sidewalk these are the words that ran thru my mind . . . “stupid, you forgot to buckle the seatbelt”. Hey, Mama said she raised me . . . she did not say she raised me smart.
Sooooo, here I am heading face first toward that before mentioned cement sidewalk. I can already feel the aches that are heading my way. This is NOT going to be pretty. This is going to hurt. This is going to be funny in a couple of
years.
Do you believe in guardian angels? I do. Mine is named Oscar. He usually plays tricks on me – to lighten my mood I guess. Simple things like hiding my keys, leaving dirty dishes in the sink, gives out my phone number to “toll free callers” wanting to discuss how they can save me money with my credit card. But today Oscar was in his Marine Guardian Angel mode. He didn’t let me fall. Before I knew it I was sitting up straight in my chair. No bruises no scrapes, no blood, no tow truck to get me up! Thank you God for giving me Oscar. I take a second . . . maybe less . . . before I restart the chair then off I go again.
Then I hear him coming . . . the big wasp. He dives at me and misses. I swing my arm and he turns to come back. We are meeting face to face. I see hate in
those little beady eyes. He is not happy. He has been watching me and has
decided that I am a dumb redneck girl and he was going to kill me. (yes, I saw
all of that in his eyes!) Here he came . . . as fast as his wings could fly . . . straight for my forehead. BRING IT BUDDY!! Apparently he didn’t notice that I still had the can in my fingers. BRING IT!! And he did. He is glaring at me and headed my way. Well, I might be a country redneck from the back woods of LA but I have a BS degree. I am much smarter than I look!! I raised the can, took aim and . . . he won’t be bothering me again. And just to make sure, I ran over him as I went by.
I was so proud of myself. I did it!! I took on the giant and I won!!! I killed 4 . . .
count them, FOUR . . . wasp and didn’t even have to take my epi pen out of my
pocket. Down the sidewalk I went and headed for the carport to go into the back door. I was satisfied. I had accomplished my mission. I was going to treat myself to a glass of lemonade. Wait . . . what is that noise? WASP! Yep, right there on the corner of my roof and the walkway to my carport are about 20 really big red wasp. And they are looking at me. I slowly move toward the back door when I
decide I need a picture of this. I dig into the bottom of my bag again and whip out my camera. When I do a big group of them fly off. I see them begin to fly around me. I snap a quick picture (see below) and take off for the back door. I am safely back in the house. I may have only gotten 4 of them today but “I WILL BE BACK!”
So, how has your day been?