The day started well. Woke up early – I’m a night owl but somehow have turned my nights into day and day into nights. As I started my day, doing what comes naturally, turning on the computer, I thought about my plans for the day. First on my blank slate was to work on my drawing. Thanks to a fellow artist my interest in artistic endeavors had come back full bore. Just then the phone rang. It was that same number that had been calling me for days – from another state, never left a message; and I was sure it was a robocall so I never answered it. Well, it’s time to find out who this is, I thought. So I checked the number on Google and found the number belonged to Kohl’s store. Hmmm. I just opened an account with them at Christmas, were they doing a survey or what? I called the number and the lady informed me I was overdue with my first payment. This couldn’t be, as I remember registering online. As I was talking to her I looked up my account and found, yes, I had registered but — oh yeah, I remember now, since it was several weeks before my payment was due I decided to wait to make a payment – and never did! So the $25. savings I made by opening an account was quickly taken away by a late fee!
As I’m relating all this to a friend on FB I get yet another call. This time it’s a fellow member of a club in which I am the recording secretary. She wants to know am I going to be coming to the meeting “today”? What?? A meeting? Today!?? Oh no, I hadn’t even written it down in my organizer. In one and a half years I had never missed a meeting. I was mortified. How could this happen? The week before, when the phone person called to see if I would be coming to the meeting I said, “of course”, but wondered why she was calling so soon when the meeting was almost three weeks away. Turns out February had two meetings scheduled instead of the regular one meeting a month.
So my lovely day was fast becoming troublesome and my spirits were dropping fast. Trying to stay strong, but spirits dropping fast. I knew this month might be a hard one since it is the second anniversary of my husband’s death. But just when I have moved on to start a new life with new purpose and I invite love into my life again – only to find it is unrequited love. Now my spirits have bottomed out!
The phone rang again and it’s my newfound friend who invited me to go for a walk in a most exceptionally beautiful park the day before. Her humor and good cheer helped lift my spirits – enough so that I was able to get to work on my drawing.
Upon awakening the next morning I went through my morning ritual, turned to my FB page and found a very dear lifelong friend, whom I had shared my tale of woe to, had posted a blog on my timeline Not Everything Happens For a Reason: The magic words to say when everything is going wrong
I could relate to the article – I had been in a “why me, why me” for sometime in the past month. If someone had said to me, “everything happens for a reason” it would have added to my grief not lessened it. So it is my friends who care for me and listen without platitudes and well meaning but ill-timed advise who lift me up and out of despair.
Onward and upward! I am stronger! And I turned to this strengthening little God-sent scripture this morning:
Psalm 34:18 The Lord is near to those who have a broken heart, and saves those who have a crushed spirit.