Of Sickness, Cops, and Old Churches

This was quite an interesting week. From Monday through Wednesday I stayed home sick. I haven't been that sick in quite awhile. The cold went way down in my lungs; I probably had a touch of laryngitis. I was happy just to sit still and let my body heal. On Monday I spent most of the day sitting in bed reading, listening to books on tape, and cross-stitching while faithful Cheeky purred next to me, glad of a warm companion. I felt enough improvement on Wednesday to know I could go back to teaching on Thursday.

What a blessing it was to be sick! The Lord knew exactly what I needed! It was a blessed three days of just being still and refocusing spiritually and emotionally. I was especially encouraged by listening to Anne Graham Lotz's message, "Just Give Me Jesus." I decided to claim that as my motto this year. Sums up a lot.

So I went back to teaching on Thursday very refreshed and full of peace and good will to all. Still blowing and coughing a bit, but nothing bad. I definitely didn't have a lot of energy. I guess I was feeling so relaxed that I relaxed my attention to things like speed limits. Now, I have prided myself on driving for ten years without ever being pulled over by a cop. That doesn't mean I've never done any speeding, but for the most part, I'm a pretty conscientious driver, a happy medium between my lead-foot dad and my super-cautious mom. ANYWAY, I had just turned onto a little country road on the way to a student's house. In a short distance the speed limit goes from 35 to 40 and 50. I think I usually just start accelerating up to 50 before I ever get there. But there I was, driving along, totally not thinking about my speed, when I spied a green sheriff's car parked off the road with something poking out the window that was quickly pulled in. Uh-oh. I had a sinking feeling as I glanced at my speedometer and saw I was going over 45 and then glanced at the speed limit. I slowed way down and watched my rear-view mirror. Was this going to be that dreaded day? Surely this guy didn't want to get out in the pouring rain and pick on an innocent girl like me. But sure enough, he pulled out behind me and turned on his lights. You've never seen anyone pull over as quickly as I did. I grabbed my license while he walked up to my window.

Fortunately, he was a pretty nice guy, almost apologetic when he said he'd clocked me at 47 in a 35 zone. He asked why I was going so fast and all I could say was that my mind was on other things. He said that and the rain don't make a good combination. He took my registration and license back to his car while I rolled up the window and fervently prayed that he wouldn't give me a ticket, though I knew I deserved it. After an eternity (maybe only a couple minutes), he came back and said the ticket was $132, but he was going to let me go with a warning. "You need to slow down!" he said, and walked away. "Thank you, Lord," I breathed. I arrived at my student's house a few minutes late, but very grateful I'd gotten off with just a warning!

On Friday morning I got a call from a guy who was referred to me by my friend Mike. His church desparately needed a fill-in soloist for their Saturday morning service. It was a Seventh-Day Adventist Church. This was a most unusual request, and though I still had some crud in my throat, I decided to go for it. I diligently practiced when I could on Friday, which was mostly in the car on the way to school. Well, to make a long story short, I went up to north Seattle this morning and sang at this church. It was an old, beautiful, very traditional church with a pipe organ, stain glass windows, wooden pews, etc. My contact person said they had a very high liturgical service and he was definitely right. The atmosphere was pleasantly worshipful and sabbatic, but have no fear of my converting. I'm not familiar with the tenets of the denomination, but one difference that was soon obvious was the role of women in church leadership. A prominent role. The senior pastor was a man, but for some reason, a young women delivered the sermon today. She didn't look any older than 22 or 23 and gave a message about "Embracing Diversity." It was uh, interesting. I wanted to point out a few Scriptures to her afterwards. I don't think anybody went away filled. I went away slightly depressed, sensing a certain deadness or something about the church. It made me extra grateful for the rich services I get to attend every Sunday morning, led by a man of God who studies the Word and presents it unadulterated. Well, anyway, my solos went well, PTL, and people seemed to be blessed. I'm glad I had that experience.

I've been loafing the rest of the day, feeling very squirrely and unsettled. Probably cause I already had three days off this week. Well, maybe I'll go watch a movie or something. Sorry this post is so long!