A Grand Day it Was . . .

Doug’s portrait of great memory of a grand fall day at the South River

It was a grand day, even for a Monday. Nature and a string of green lights conspired to promote emotional peace and harmony as I journeyed to an appointment.

I had  left with plenty of time to make the 11:00 AM doctor’s appointment AND  I enjoyed the rare experience  of sailing  down the highway,  through nothing but green lights. 

Arriving 15 minutes early, I double checked the protocol for going into the office. 

YIKES!

I was at the wrong office — 

Suddenly, I realized I had less than fifteen minutes to get to an office that was [now] thirty minutes away! 

(How, you ask, did I manage this? Doug had asked, is the appointment at the Annapolis office? 

I said Yes; without checking the notice. 

The location in Annapolis stuck in my brain — not the doc’s north county location.)

Sigh: Senior moment on steroids, right? 

The Day Confirmed My Suspicions!

I was exasperated with myself, more than a wee bit  embarrassed, and projecting all over the map as I recalculated my route! How to recover and not harm myself or others on the road?

I made a choice — one I make a lot these days:  I would pray and breathe —instead of  freaking.

A good question for Older Drivers

God understands our prayers even when we can’t find the words to say them. ~Author unknown

(Although I flirted with some choice words  with annoying drivers on my trek back. Then, I remembered they  were able to annoy me because of my choice not to check the location of the appointment which was clearly stated in the reminder text.) 

Whew

Driving safely didn’t solve my self-generating angst. Inviting God in my emotions, did.

Reordering my thoughts,  and praying helped manage my emotions — which meant I was a saner and safer driver! Even if no green lights facilitted  this leg of  my journey!

If you wonder about inviting God anywhere, here’s an older  poem about an even  older problem — How do we know God is good.

How do I know that God is good? I don’t.
I gamble like a man. I bet my life.
Upon one side of life’s great war. I must,
I can’t stand out. I must take sides. The man
Who is a neutral in this fight is not
A man. He’s bulk and body without breath…
A fool. Weak tea!… I want to live, live out…
I must have God… I’d drink myself blind drunk,
And see blue snakes if I could not look up
To see blue skies, and hear God speaking through
The silence of the stars. How is it proved?
It isn’t proved, you fool, it can’t be proved.
How can you prove a victory before
It’s won?…
~G. A. Studdert Kennedy, “Faith,” The Sorrows of God and Other Poems, 1924

Onward, outward and hopeful . . . right? Well, just for today, anyway. 

There can be spiritual solutions to material problems, even if there are no material solutions to spiritual problems.

Thanks for reading — I’ve dug up a few from posts that might please you dear reader. 

• This time last year, the second Monday of November   was also a grand day — almost a respite between the one set of unimaginable troubles before the Presidential election and those that boiled over in the following weeks.  

• The benefit of a renewed mind is that it’s the only way to make peace with an aging body. Salvaging What I Can for Another Season