Insert Grace Here

This post is dedicated to my new son-in-law son, Trey,

the volunteer Fireman and Soldier in training.

We all have them—days when nothing seems to go right.  Days like last Friday when I woke up in pee.  Let me clarify.  Not my pee, but Sophie’s.  So my day started out with a jolt when Sophie snuggled closer to me and whispered, “I’m wet.”

AGGGGGGGHHHH!  I jumped out of bed, stripped Sophie down for a quick bath, stripped bedsheets and mattress cover and made sure pillows were spared.  Paused.  Thanked God for mattress covers.  Proceeded with plans for the day.

Sophie accompanied me on a trip to clean Suzonne’s house.  Suzonne is my friend who also happens to be my totally rockin’ hairdresser.  But that’s another story which I have been promising to post and absolutely will one day soon when the bottom hasn’t fallen out.

Fast forward to Friday afternoon.  Exhausted and emotional about a few things that were on my mind, I struggled to fight tears.  Raging hormones showed up for their monthly visit unannounced and early.  I took a bath with Sophie in hopes of calming my nerves.  But, lo, it did not work.  Like the way too bubbly water, I was drained.

There we were.  In our pajamas.  Contemplating the possibility of joining Cammie and Trey for one last shabang at Trey’s father’s karaoke show.  Indecision was making me crazy, feeding my already overcharged hormones.  So I did what any PMSing woman would do—chose the pajamas.  And then I put on a pot of water for some tea.

Some unknown amount of time and uncertain events later, I remembered that we were out of ice.  Rather than revisit regret over our post-Katrina refrigerator purchase with faulty ice maker, I told Sophie to go potty so we could run to Sonic for a bag of ice.  Because Sonic ice rocks!  And we didn’t have to get out the car; therefore, we could ride in the comfort of our pajamas.  *Insert sigh of relief here.*

Tired muscles relaxed.  Off we went.  And then I remembered that I needed to make a deposit.  No problem because, pajamas! Taking my sweet time, I tried to focus on implementing a few gas saving driving tips I read in one of Uncle John’s awesome, amazing and insightful Bathroom Readers.  So I made my deposit and then went to Sonic to order ice and dinner for Sophie and me because Sonic has a wheat hamburger bun.  HUGE smiles.

These details are important, people.  I think.

And then an overwhelming burden came over me.  Immediately compelled to pray for safety, I thought of the wet roads and loved ones traveling.  Cammie and Trey were on their way to La Place for the show.  Courtney and her friends were out on the roads and Joe would be driving home from work soon.  Tears welled up as I prayed.  So overwhelming was that burden that when I finally felt a release in prayer, I was sure that any moment someone would call about a near miss.

But no one called.  I drove so slowly by the time I got home I had forgotten that burden.  The moment I walked in the door I smelled something.  I followed the smell to the kitchen.  And there it was.  The pot that I had put on to boil water for tea sitting on a red hot burner without one drop of water left.

“THANK YOU, God!” I breathed a huge sigh of relief, turned the burner off and grabbed a potholder.  This is what happened when I moved the pot:

The bottom fell out.

The bottom of a Magnalite pot.  Have you ever seen or heard of a Magnalite pot melting?  Me neither.

Watching that pot melt as I moved it from the burner shocked me.  I couldn’t speak.  Did you notice the bottle of oil directly behind the pot lurking dangerously too close?  The cork is no longer in it.

It’s laying next to the burner:

You can’t see it in the picture, but the cork was turning black.  How completely, unbelievably irresponsible am I?  Don’t answer that!

Although I was obviously relieved that my house was still standing, I had a difficult time shaking guilt.  Sometimes we let ourselves get so bogged down with this life.  We’re overworked and overstressed about things we cannot control.  We call ourselves Christ followers but we often take the lead and run ahead of Him.  Yet with endless mercy and grace He will  interrupt our absurd attempts to run our lives by allowing the bottom to fall out.

When Joe came home Friday, I greeted him at the door to prepare him.  He laughed.  Not the reaction I expected.  And then he turned the pot over.

It was at that moment when I recalled the overwhelming burden I felt at Sonic.  At that moment, I realized the magnitude of God’s grace and covering over me.

When Trey and Cammie came in later that night, Trey gave me a lesson in fire safety.  I wonder if God specifically saw fit for Trey to be a volunteer Fireman just for his future mother-in-law?  He told me that although the bottle of oil was getting hot, the cork kept it from getting oxygen.  But apparently the corked was forced out.  I’m not sure how long it would’ve taken for it to ignite.

Trey checked my fire extinguisher to see if  it was still good.  And then he made sure I knew how to use it.  Yea right!  Like there would be a repeat!  Just as I was sure that we would never separate that pot from the burner, I was sure that I would never cook again.

Two days later the pot and burner were separated.  Two days later I cooked shrimp and corn soup for Trey.  Only this time, the oil along with everything else that sat behind my stove was moved to the counter.  And on the opposite side of the stove sits my fire extinguisher waiting to be mounted on the wall.

Maybe I’ll hang that pot on the wall and call it Redneck Art.  And every time I look at it, I’ll be reminded to slow down and make sure I haven’t ran ahead of The Shepherd.

For he shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways. -Psalm 91:11