Twinklegram Archives
6/2/04
Hello Twinklegrammers!,
The other morning George and I went to breakfast with a couple friends. Picture this: each husband and wife seated next to each other, same side of the table; ladies across from one another leaving men in the same proximity. Ah, the cozy gathering.
Conversation started out lively; it had been a long while since we'd seen each other. Since we're all now over 55, we immediately launched into Really Important Discussions about our health, things like recent surgeries and medications, bodily functions and exercise. (Okay, too much information! you're saying. I heard you ;>) And honest, I just threw the bodily function thing in there to be funny. I don't *think* we actually went "there", although one person's recent gallbladder surgery might have tipped us to the fringe.)
Anyway, pretty soon we chided ourselves since surely we weren't old enough to limit ourselves to conversations like THAT, so the men veered off in their own little world of sports and stuff and we women talked about Lady Things, then quickly circled our thoughts to our retired husbands since we were sure they weren't listening - which they weren't. (Boy, aren't they always HOME! Aren't they in our WAY! Don't they forget to DO what we ask! Why is it they're not more LIKE us! Can you BELIEVE he actually read the directions for the dishwasher and told me I'd been loading it incorrectly for 35 YEARS?!) Then we teed off on the size of our homes. Just not enough room in either of them, that was all there was TO it! Our mouths flew more quickly by the second as we blabbed each other to fevered heights of whining about "them" and "no storage room" and bladdy bladdedy bladdy.
When our tongues were nearing peak speeds, I picked up a packet of sweetener and began to flick one end of it with my fingers, you know, to tap the stuff down to the bottom of the packet before I tore it open. FLICK, FLICK, FLICK. Wag the packet. FLICK, FLICK, FLICK. I was maintaining that "I hear you!" eye contact with my friend (eyebrows going up and down with the impact of our words) while flicking. (See the windup.) "Those men" were revealed to be more tormenting with each word, facial bounce and flick. Our homes were shrinking as we TALKED. (Hear it coming.) I glanced down to ready to empty the content into my iced tea and (The Pitch) … I hadn't noticed that I'd picked up a packet from which I'd previously poured just a few grains. The open end was, of course (STEE-RIKE THREE!) facing my lap. I'd flicked sweetener all OVER my chest, lap, legs…
"Charlene," I heard God say, "you could use a little 'sweetener'. How's this for a baptismal dose?" My mouth stuck in the open position as God spoke. I looked from the packet to myself, the packet to myself, then shared with my friend what God had just said to me. With lower volume and a severe change in topics and tone, our conversation moved on.
Minutes after George and I arrived home, the phone rang. "I saw a homeless man on my way home," she said. "I sure walked into my house more grateful than when I left. God's really busy today."
So, God used any unique tactics to get YOUR attention about something lately? Let me know, if you want. Maybe I'll round them all up (sans identities, of course) and send out a list of God's Creative Ways to Tap Us On The Shoulder.
Peace and grins,
Charlene
www.welcometopartonville.com
PS For those of you who are Dearest Dorothy fans, things are really hopping in Partonville as I work on book number four in the series. (HINT: LOVE is in the air!) And mark your calendars: Dearest Dorothy, Help! I've Lost Myself! (#3 in the series) will be available in book stores August 31st. It's Pumpkin Festival time in Pardon-Me-ville and a shocking secret is revealed about someone. Book stores (in your town and on the web) are already taking orders!
PSS Don't forget to pass this TwinkleGram along to someone you think might enjoy it!
