My Embarrassing Dress

There is a time for everything and a season for everything under heaven… a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance. (Ecclesiastes 3: 1,4 NIV)

            The dress went over my head and snuggled too tightly around me middle. Unfortunately, I hadn’t tried it on before leaving to spend the night at my Chris and Anne’s home.

            “Does it look too tight?” I asked my teenaged granddaughter, Ashlyn.

            Her sweet disposition wouldn’t allow her to say, “Yes.” However, her eyes did.

            “I brought pants I could wear instead but not a top for church.”

            “You could look through mine,” she said.

            If I could hold my stomach in for a couple of hours, I could make it. I knew I had gained some weight but didn’t think the dress would grasp me so tightly. Normally, the draped center camouflaged bulges.

            At church hundreds of people passed me and many stopped to talk as I greeted them before and after the service. Occasionally, I remembered to suck it in.

            As I left church with Chris and his family, Ashlyn stepped behind me.

            “Grandma, your dress is lower in the back,” she said as she looked at the front neckline too.

            My hand went to the front of my dress and grasped a tag. I couldn’t have.

            One look at Ashlyn’s shaking head confirmed my suspicion. “Grandma, you wore your dress backwards.”

            “Maybe no one noticed.”

            “You were a greeter with the Connection team.”

            She was right. Even though no one said anything, there could have been hundreds of people who wondered why my dress was backwards.

            I burst into laughter. She cringed and then laughed too.

            Advancing age seems to bring more goofs but also less concern about how people see me. I don’t take myself as seriously as I used to.

            After years of tears, laughs now come. Dancing joined my grief. If my incident makes someone laugh, I am glad because it continues to amuse me.

Dear Lord, thank you for the seasons of life and changing times. Help me to laugh at my goofs and go on. Amen

Unaccommodating Restrooms

The one who blesses others is abundantly blessed; those who help others are helped. (Proverbs 11: 25 The Message)

Many are the plans in a man’s heart but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails. (Proverbs 19: 21 NIV)

            “I can match your pace,” the lady in the wheelchair said as my friend and I walked beside her at the retreat center.

            My steps quickened, and she sped up until we reached the meeting room. We laughed as I tried to keep up with her.

            The next day when she wheeled up to us, the smile was gone.

            “Do you know where there is a restroom?” she asked.

            The wobbly seat in one stall made her afraid of falling. While I took her to a nearby restroom, my friend left to find a maintenance worker. After maneuvering through difficult doors and a narrow doorway, she wasn’t able to use it either.

            “I know another one,” I said.

            We hurried to another building and down a hallway. My hand grasped a locked door.

            She kept saying that it was ok. I knew it wasn’t.

            “Let’s try one more building,” I said.

            A man carrying tools told me he was fixing the problem. With a set of swinging doors, we managed to get her into the last restroom. There was no way she could have gotten through on her own.

            “Thank you so much,” she said.

            “Even though you said it was ok, it wasn’t.”

            On our way back to the meeting room, we talked briefly about her life. Polio put her into a wheelchair as a child. During that same time, I received the new vaccine to prevent the dreaded disease.

            “My husband died four years ago,” she said.

            “Mine died three years ago,” I said.

            Later, I handed her one of my books and briefly explained my story.

            “I want to give you a hug,” she said. “God brought us together.”

            I agreed as I bent down to embrace her. Two widows of a similar age. One with polio and one without. Why was she affected and I wasn’t? Her positive attitude, in spite of her difficulties, inspired me. God knew our encounter would be a blessing for both of us.

Heavenly Father, thank you for all the encounters you arrange for me. We can bless each other. Amen