Brenda’s Blog – November 29, 2022
It is almost 5:00 on a Saturday afternoon. Every window brings in beautiful fall sunshine. The leaves are creating a patterned ground covering resembling a Persian carpet. The poem, Pippa’s Song comes to mind: “God’s in His heaven, all’s right in the world.” The crisp, fresh air invigorates and makes me smile.
Twenty-four hours ago I was gathering pillows, rugs, flashlights, bottled water, closed-toe shoes, head covering, and my charged up phone. Why? The weather report went from “storm predicted, to tornado watch, to tornado warning with those frightening words, “Find your windowless, inside place and shelter.”
For the next hours I sat on my ottoman with the weather warnings blaring “now crossing I-20, spotted north of Hawkins.” Thankfully the power stayed on. 600 of the 1800 homes in our community lost power, but through the several hours of hunkering down in my “tornado closet” the lights, TV, and appliances hummed along without a glitch.
Yes, we had a tremendous storm with lightning streaks, thunder, and rain, but the tornado turned away. I awoke to a classic November morning.
What a difference a day made!
Tonight I will go to sleep only to wake up with an extra hour. What happened? I didn’t time travel; I didn’t step through into the Twilight Zone. No, I crossed that mysterious, Congress-imposed “time change.” In the wee hours we fell back. I remember last year when I was traveling on this weekend. I went West gaining two time zones, so my fall back was three hours!
It takes so very little for an experience to change the trajectory of our lives, doesn’t it? A phone call, a visit, an invitation, a business decision – all can take such a short time with such long term consequences. Lively wisely means keeping our eyes open to see the blessings of each day and working hard to appreciate them. Each day is an opportunity to fully share grace with others, making a difference in their days.