I knew God had me right where he wanted me. Three months prior in the foyer of my Home Church in Illinois a lady and I had an encounter. We were sharing our pain with one another. I had mentioned that I need to write a book and she said, "I knew this morning when I entered the church I was to share with you about this conference but I didn't know why til now." She went on to say that an author will be attending a Women's conference in Indianapolis in August and she teaches people how to write their stories. I was elated! But it was in August...we would be moved to Texas by then and it wouldn't be possible for me to come back North. I googled this story-writing-instructor and signed up for her emails. Soon I received an email that she would hold a writing conference in Houston, an hour from my new town two months after I arrive. Not a Women's conference, a writer's conference, exactly what I desired. I asked hubby if we could make it happen so soon after the move, he agreed I should go. God provided every penny for me to register. When it came to booking a two night stay in Houston (which was the same price as the conference) I became nervous and contemplated canceling. God in His goodness came through once again using my awesome hubby's points to get my hotel for FREE! When you know God calls you to it, that's one thing, when He lights up the path, its a no-brainer.
Back to the conference...I met loads of inspiring writers, but I began to pray for God to give me the one person. Someone to connect with on a more personal level. We all long for connection and community, God created us for intimacy. I don't remember exactly when it happened. It was the end of the day, as everyone was making their way to the exit I met her. I commented on her clothes. She was dressed for Summer and just darling. We ventured to the stone table and benches under the tree where we talked and laughed and talked and laughed. We connected and neither of us wanted it to end, she invited me to attend Beth Moore's bible study with her across town.
Across town. It shouldn't be that difficult to grab a quick bite to eat and get there within 30 minutes. (Here is where my small town living, completely ignorant to the Houston traffic way of life comes into play). The plan was to meet at Fuddruckers, get a bite to go, and meet at the church, easy enough. I pulled into the parking lot and parked at the entrance waiting for my new friend, all the while being eye balled by a police officer in a golf cart. I have no idea why there is a police officer in a golf cart in the parking lot of Fuddruckers. But rest assured, there was! I waited and waited. I decided to order my food but I wasn't at Fuddruckers. *gasp* Sound the music, the fun is about to begin! Seriously, I had been waiting fifteen minutes in the parking lot, at the wrong location. My heart had started to beat fast, and I wondered why I hadn't grabbed my new friend's phone number. I walked to my car which is now parked in the middle of a large massive parking lot surrounded by three restaurants and there it is, in all its glory... FUDDRUCKERS. I pass my car, jump the wooden fence, all the while the police officer is eyeballing me real close. I swing the door open and order my to-die-for hamburger with bacon, no onions please. The clock is ticking and I'm starting to panic that I will be late for Beth Moore's bible study. Who walks in late to a Beth Moore bible study? I grab my food and go only to pace the parking lot for five minutes searching for my car. *Arghhh*
I have ten minutes to make it from one side of Katy FREEWAY to the other. I'm an experienced driver, I have driven in Chicago and LA. Maybe it was just the pressure of time or the FACT that my GPS doesn't know the difference between interstate 10 and Katy freeway but this was not happening the way I imagined it. Turn right, left, right, right, simple. Nope. On the GPS the roads seem to overlap and the signs say something different than the GPS. The road, ummm, all eight lanes of it without warning become two and arch up into the heavens and split in half. I think to myself, this can't be happening. Quick which way, which way? North or South? I know now that I have long passed my "right" turn to the church and that where ever these two roads lead (tolls, they lead to tolls) is not where I want to go! Its becoming clear to me that Satan doesn't want me at this bible study and that he was the mastermind behind the engineering of Houston's interstates. I pay the tolls, turn around and arrive ten minutes late to the church.
The church isn't ginormous, but there are several buildings and entrances. I'm a little shaken up by now as I'm walking to the entrance. I walk in on a Celebrate Recovery meeting happening in the foyer. Okay God, if this is where you want me, okay. I've done CR before but if you want me to do it again, okay. I'm about to surrender, I smile, they smile back (bless them) and I keep walking. The next group was not the bible study either. It was a room full of math tech nerds. They were studying serious math with letters, numbers, brackets in equations the length of the board, I'm NOT overreacting. They look at me and I look at them and ask "do you know where Beth Moore's bible study is?" They look at me like I'm an alien, and said with puzzled looks "No, no ma'am, we don't." I'm convinced they may not have realized in all their math wizardry that they were in a church, not a university and it was more weird for them to be here than me! I can feel tears wanting to surface but nope...I will find this bible study, Satan is not winning tonight. I bump into a fella, and I ask if he knows where the study is happening and he does. Thank goodness, finally! We jump on his golf cart and he drives me to another building. He giggles at my inability to make it from one side of the interstate to the other. I'm less amused at the moment.
Praise Jesus I have arrived. I'm late but they are singing. My friend finds me and we hug as I'm about to drop to the ground and shatter. She said she had just arrived five minutes ago because she had some difficulty at the interstate exchange. You don't say!
The worship was fantastic. Here I was, finally, at Beth Moore's bible study surrounded by beautiful women eager to learn God's word. There is no place I would rather be. Beth delivers a solid message, affirming what God had revealed to me the day before through the stranger (see previous post) but that's a whole other story for another day.
Lessons I learned:
-Don't give up and let the devil win.
-Don't trust a GPS in Houston
-I think Katy Expressway and Interstate 10 are one of the same, but I'm not 100% sure. I hope a reader will let me know.
-I think golf carts are "a thing" in Houston.
-Jumping fences in parking lots is frowned upon by the Houston Police.
-Math classes are held at church...there may be a very good reason for that, intercessory help.
If you learned from my eccentric experience, please comment and enlighten me!
