Please give me a sign...

Anyone who knows me knows that I have a love hate relationship with my house.

As a first time home buyer, I learned many, many lessons. Lessons about what to do and what not to do, about what questions to ask, about what things to look for, etc.

Several years ago, we refinanced our house. Another process about which I learned many, many things.

I have loved my house for as long as I can; after living here for ten years, it is now time for us to move.

Needless to say, this is not a decision that was made lightly. This is a huge deal for my family and me. It was discussed, pondered, prayed over and discussed some more.

One of the people I talked to about this was my good friend Amy. I told her that I was nervous because this will affect my entire family and I didn't want to make the wrong decision. She kindly listened to my story, offered a few encouraging words and told me she would be praying for me. She also gave me a verse to pray over.

This was a verse that she wore around her neck during her recent travels to the Mediterranean.

Isaiah 30:21

Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, "This is the way; walk in it."

What an excellent verse, amen?

That Amy, I tell you, she always knows the perfect scripture for any given situation. Just one of the many reasons I love her so, but I digress...



That night I took the Bible to bed with me and looked up this verse so I could read it and pray for direction. Afterwards, I rolled over to lay it down on my book tray and stretched out to turn off my bedside lamp.

No sooner than I finished turning off my lamp I got a horrible ache in my chest and neck. The pain was in my back, under my shoulder blade, and stretched down my right arm to my elbow. It hurt to breath, it hurt to lie down, it hurt to roll over, it just plain HURT!

Two IBprofin and several minutes of intense discomfort later, I finally managed to get comfortable enough to drift off.

The next day my, as my co-workers and I were walking back to the office from lunch, I felt something poke me in my neck. "Ouch!" I yelled while I slapped at the pain, noting the feel of a definite bug under my fingers.

I flung the culprit to the ground and before Katie instinctively stomped on it, ending his life, we all four looked down to discover that it was a bee.

I had gotten stung, on my neck, by a bee! OUWWCH!! Darn bee!

Later that evening, I was driving home from work. I turned right at the stop sign and looked up to see a train, slowly making its way down the tracks - tracks that I still had to cross. Already running a little late, I made a snap decision to turn and head in the other direction to beat the train - which looked like it was getting ready to completely stop on the tracks.

Right before I arrived at the next street I heard the siren of a police car. Then I saw it - he was pulling out of a side street, getting ready to pull someone over for speeding.

AND he was headed in my direction...

Crap! I thought to myself. I know I was on a mission to get across those tracks, but was I speeding? How fast was I going? What's the speed limit?? Crap, crap, crap!

After making it safely across the tracks (since that was the whole reason I must have been speeding in the first place) I pulled over and rolled down my window, license in hand, to receive my punishment.

"I clocked you going 46 in a 35" the police lady politely informed me.

"Okay" I said, laughing to myself that I was now stopped because I was trying not to get stopped. Oh, the irony of it all...

After going to her car to run my license, she returned with my ticket and let me know that they had lowered it to say I was only going five over.


Whew! I thought as I signed my ticket thinking what a nice officer she was. "Okay, thanks." I said and we bid each other good day.

Yes, I know...It's just crazy. I thanked her for giving me a ticket. What can I say?? No use getting mad or upset about it.

And the good news of this little event is that the worlds slowest train, that I was trying to avoid getting caught by, DID stop on the tracks.

I arrived home and called Amy.

I told her about my day and we had a good chuckle over the irony of the events immediately following my prayer on a this verse that she suggested AND about all of the crazy events that happened, one after the other, to her while she was on her Mediterranean adventure - wearing this exact verse around her neck.

We decided that God loves Amy's sense of humor and that is why he keeps letting all of these things happen in her life - so she can blog about it and entertain us all :).

And, since she and I have become so close, he may have thought that my sense of humor was just as good. However, I'm not convinced.... so, to be on the safe side, I decided to hold off on praying over this particular verse until the exact moment that I will be going to look at houses.

I'll let you know how that logic works for me ;)

Until then.....take care.