Wednesday, November 16, 2011

How the Lost was Found

I have a personal faith story I would like to share with everyone.  It's all about a set of lost keys.  I know that seems like a small thing to lose and not very significant, but hang with me.  It gets better.

Let me begin by saying it is very common for me to lose things.  I'm quite gifted at it actually.  If there was an Olympic event for lost keys and phones, I'd be in the running for gold for sure.  So when I noticed my school keys were missing last Friday, I didn't get too worked up about it.  I just assumed they would resurface in the next day or 2, probably somewhere obscure, but I would find them.  When I still hadn't found them on Monday, I was becoming flustered.  Tuesday I called places I had been on Thursday.  Still no keys.  Tuesday night, Michael looked in every crevice of the Yukon and I searched every article of clothing I had or might had worn.  Still no keys.

I had been praying on and off throughout my search process but had not felt any pull from God in any certain direction.  I had been leading myself through the search the entire time.  Tuesday night I decided to give up.  I closed my eyes, bowed my head, and spoke with my God.  "God, I know it's just a set of keys.  I know it's not that big of a deal, but it has been weighing on me.  No more.  I give up.  It would be awesome if you would reveal the keys to me, but if you don't, I'm done allowing it to bother me.  I give it up, to you."  It felt good to let it go from my shoulders to His feet.

When I woke Wednesday morning, I recalled a dream I had had while I slept...  I was in the gym with the fifth graders.  I was telling them about my lost set of keys and if they should happen upon them to let me know.  As I was speaking, I was pulling the parachute out of the box when my hand felt something among the nylon.  As I looked to my hand, one of the girls pointed and said, "Mrs. Wicks!  Are those your keys?!"  When I looked to where she was pointing, I saw a green lanyard through the white nylon.  My hands parted the slippery surface of the parachute and clink! My keys fell to the wooden gym floor.  Hmmmm....  Made me think, but really? Maybe, but doubtful.

Later that morning I was telling the account of my lost keys, prayer and dream to some co-workers.  When one laughed at me I responded with, "Hey!  Don't laugh at me.  I'm going the gym right now to look in the parachute box!"

I headed off across the street to the gym.  As I made my way to the gym closet, I wasn't sure what to think.  Was I crazy?  It's not like God would speak to me.  I hushed my mind as I opened the supply closet, located the box and began pulling the parachute out.  Clink!  Keys fell into the box.  My jaw nearly hit the floor and my eyes had to have been the size of saucers.

As I began to leave the gym, I had to share my story with the other PE teacher.  "You'll never believe what just happened to me" I began.  She listened in awe and then told me, "You know Billie Jo what's really bizarre?  That box fell over yesterday and I scooped it up, pushed the parachute back inside and never saw a key."

Say what you will about the power of the human mind, but I firmly believe this is a testament of the power of God.  (Like Pat said, "You're blonde, it's not like your mind could have known the answer the whole time!"  Thanks Pat, thanks.)  To know that God knows me, hears me and loves me enough to not only help me find the lost, but also to speak to me and in such a clear manner just leaves me in lovestruck wonder I can't even begin to describe it.  How great is our God?  Pretty great and then some.

Wednesday, November 9, 2011

Another?!?!

Robby shocked me yesterday.  (Yes, that is a frequent occurrence, but this time, he really got me.)  I was making dinner when out of nowhere I felt a tap on my rear end (gotta love preschool height).  When I turned around, Robby's big eyes looked into mine and he asked, "Mom, can we have another baby now?"

I must have fluid in my ears and not have heard right.  "What?"

"Can we have another baby now?  Sam's not a baby anymore and I really, really want one.  I love babies.  Can we have another baby now?"

I replied as any good mother would, "Um, go talk to your dad."

Robby set rounded the corner, found Michael and repeated his request.  I eavesdropped curious to how Michael would gently let him down.  Imagine my surprise when he responded with what other than, yes, you guessed it, "Go talk to your mom."

So Robby turned right back my way with those pleading eyes that scream "Please, please, puh-lease?!?!"

"Go talk to God.  But if you do, ask for a sister.  Tell him Mom really likes pink."

And he did.  He put himself straight into a corner, folded his little chubby fingers around one another, squeezed those big eyes and began to pray.

"I did it Mom!  Now we have to wait and see!" announced Rob a few moments later.

I looked at Michael and smiled.  "Remember what happened last time one of our children prayed a prayer like that?"

"Yup.  We got Sam."  Ray's prayer for twin sisters and a mini-van may not have been fulfilled but Sam and a Yukon are close enough for me.  I wonder in what mysterious way God might respond to Rob's request...

Monday, November 7, 2011

A Twinkle in His Eye

My expecting sister-in-law was chuckling as she told me that Ray had been educating her.  I had to ask, "Oh boy.  About what?"

"About where baby's come from.  It's quite the story."

"Oh yea?  What exactly did he say?"  My mind reeled trying to remember how much information we had provided Ray with on this topic.  Not a lot, but nothing too humorous either.

"It's a very detailed story so I thought you must have told it to him.  It had to of come from somewhere."

I must have had a puzzled look on my face so she went on to recount Ray's story of how baby's come to be...

The baby starts as a twinkle in the Daddy's eye.  (Thank you Grandma Cookie for that...)  Then the Daddy has an invisible tube that he uses to get this twinkle to the Mommy's belly.  Then a baby grows in the Mommy's tummy.  When the baby is ready, she goes to the doctor who helps her get the baby out.

Hmmmm.... Not quite the same special seed version we told Ray, but I guess I can live with that explanation for now.  Not sure where the invisible tube part came from though.

Tooth Fairy Trouble Adverted!

Confession:  I am a poor Tooth Fairy Assistant.  If she had anyone else to do the job, she'd fire me, for sure!

Saturday night I had the dollar in my pocket and the tooth was right there ready to be swapped out.  The problem?  Ray was still awake.  Sigh.

I went to my room, got in my jammies and snuggled into bed planning to creep back down the hall after Ray was out for the night.  I'm sure you all know what happened next.

So the next morning I thought I was soooo sneaky when I slipped the dollar out of my robe pocket and switched it for the tooth on Ray's night stand while he was reading and never even looked up.  I sat on the foot of his bed and we chit chatted a little bit.  I got around to slyly asking what the money on his nightstand was for.

Ray's eye lit up and he about gave himself whiplash turning his head to check.  "Wow!  How long has that been there? It wasn't there 10 minutes ago!  That Tooth Fairy is good!"

"I don't know.  I just saw it there..."  (I am a HORRIBLE liar!)

"You know Mom, I must have been her last stop for the night.  She must have been really busy!"

Hmmm, guess so.  (Or really blonde!)

When Ray recounted the story to his Aunt Nicole later that day, he had last checked the tooth and clock at 2 a.m. and at 2:15, the switch had been made.  Wow.  I'm even better than I thought!  Or the tooth fairy helped me out with a little memory charm.  Either way, childhood safely persevered for the time being.

Tooth Time!

Ray has lost three teeth.  And each and every one has hung in there by the final thread until the adult tooth literally pushes it out of the way.  (Which makes for crooked adult teeth growing in!)  He won't let anyone pull at them.  So when he came into our bedroom Saturday morning wiggling his most recent loose tooth and allowed even allowed Michael to wiggle it, I thought, "Here we go again...  Another crooked tooth!"

When Michael wiggled it and commented, "That tooth is coming out today," Ray's eyes got huge and I thought, "Even if it was, it's not now."

I asked Ray if he would like me to try pulling it.  He clasped his jaw tight.  Michael assured him, again, loosing a tooth doesn't hurt.  It feels different, but it doesn't hurt because the nerve endings are all severed.  Ray didn't seem to care or believe him.  Then I asked if he'd like to pull it himself with the aid of a remote control car.  I knew it was a long shot, but worth asking.  Imagine my surprise when he agreed and ran to find one!

While Ray made his car selection, I got a string of dental floss ready.  Ray settled on Toy Story rocket ship and I carefully tied a knot around his loose tooth (easier said than done by the way!).  WAIT!  I want this on video!  I handed the floss off to Michael so nothing would happen while I ran for the iPod to record Ray's bravery.  I was walking into the room and about to give the all clear when Sam came flying between Michael and Ray.  He reached up, yanked the string and POP!  "My tooth!"

Amazingly my knot held and there was Ray's tiny tooth hanging from the floss in Michael's hand.  Ray's look of horror changed to one of amusement as he started laughing and said, "You were right Dad!  It didn't hurt at all!"

Of course I managed to miss all of it on video.  One might have thunk to at least take a picture or two after the fact, but I botched that too.  Sigh.  Oh well.  Maybe next loose tooth!