Unexpected Surprises

There are two things I normally grab from the main compartment of my purse without looking: my wallet and the case for my sunglasses. It's a rare occurrence when I actually LOOK inside.

Well, the other day I happened to be 'looking.' You know the kind of looking I'm talking about. The digging, feeling around, and trying to poke your head into what some men would call the dark abyss of a woman's purse. (We seem to have everything stashed in there, don't we?)

Anyways, as my eyes are trying to focus into the dark hole and my hand is swirling amongst the contents of my bag, my hand and eyes locked on some sort of white paper. As I grab it (without pulling it out to see more visibly) I noticed it felt a little thicker than just some paper that I threw in there at some point. Then, I see the word 'Seester' written on one side and not in my handwriting. I was confused but then it clicked. The only obvious people that call me 'Seester' would be my brother, Mark and my new sister in law, Lyss. I pull it out to discover an envelope which contained a card, addressed to me... Seester.

How long had this been in there? How was it that I never noticed it before? I texted Lyss to thank her for her the card and asked her when she hid it inside my purse. It turns out it had been in my purse for nearly two weeks!!!

As I read the words, tears welled up in my eyes and I was reminded that I am loved.

Sometimes there's a disconnect between my my head and my heart... what my brain knows and how my heart feels. I know in my head that I am loved... by LOTS of people, and especially by my beloved Creator. But there are times when that fact doesn't connect with my heart.

But right at that moment, my heart felt it.

And God knew it was what I needed right at that moment.

I am loved...

I picked up an old book to start reading today. While flipping through the pages I found a 3x5 card that had marked the spot where I had last left off. On it was something written that I needed to be reminded of. Although I don't know where I originally found this quote, here's what was written on the card:

"I have nothing to prove today - to anybody.
I am a daughter of the King, set to rule -
and there are no expectations for me today,
to be or do anything.

I don't have to be perfect -
I don't have to perform -
I don't have to say the right thing
or do the right thing to be loved.

I am loved. Period."

A Bee in One's Bonnet... Err, house.

It was late in the afternoon. The windows of the house were already open. It was still warm outside but I could feel it starting to cool down. To make use of the slight breeze that would casually blow through, I opened the door that led out to the balcony in hopes that it would cool down the house quicker.

As I worked away, finishing up my latest project, I heard a very faint buzzing over the backround music that was playing on my computer. If it was Radiohead playing, perhaps it might have fit right in and I would never have second guessed the sound. But no. The sound seemed a little odd over the piano and quiet, airy voice of Feist. I looked over at my phone thinking it was sitting too closely to the monitor. That wasn't it.

I slowly glance behind my right shoulder over to the window and there it was. A Wasp. A Hornet. A Yellow Jacket. I couldn't tell. Did it really matter??? All I knew is it wasn't a fly.

I jumped out of my desk chair to the other side of the room and let out a quiet squeal as I turned back to face the window to make sure he wasn't chasing after me. Cause, you know. They do that. I think I literally stood 15 feet away from the window for about 10 minutes just watching him buzz about the window screen. Couldn't he see that the wide open door just to the right of the window was the perfect escape for him? Oh no. He had to try and figure his way out through the stupid window which was blocked by the screen. It was hopeless.

With no boyfriend or husband to come to my rescue, not even a cute, next door neighbor, I call my dad. As I'm explaining my story he puts me on speaker so my mom can join in on the fun. Okay. So I'm a little dramatic. I can hear them attempting to hold back their laughter, but in reality it was quite apparent with all the snickering.

A good hour had passed and my unwelcomed visitor had overstayed his... well, you know. After discussing all the methods of which could be used to get him OUT of MY house, I was still too scared to attempt any of them for fear of my life. I know. I already said I was dramatic. But I had no choice but to suck it up.

I decided to go with the "Closing the Window" method. I would wait for him to stop buzzing around the screen and inch my way toward the window. I swear he was watching me. I would get just close enough and he'd start buzzing around again. This took way too long to accomplish but finally saw him crawling his way up between the glass and the screen. At that moment, I ran over and slammed the window down trapping him behind the glass. Gotcha!

And by morning he was dead.

I know. I'm cruel. I left him there to die a slow death by exhaustion and starvation. I just couldn't put him out of his misery by squishing him. I had visions of a swarm of his buddies coming to his rescue, ready and willing to attack and fight till my death. I wasn't going to have that. Remember, he was the unwelcomed visitor who just invited himself inside.

I suck...

...at blogging.

There has to be a better way to keep me from disappearing...

Any suggestions?