my disclaimer.....i think?


a couple of weeks ago i began a week of contemplation and Bible reading about the up-coming celebration of the resurrection of Jesus. the purpose was simple. i wanted to relive in my mind that historic week so that it wouldn't be just another year celebrating a story that i read in a book. this God/Man did the unthinkable, and He did it for me. passing this "Easter" as just another holiday with bunnies and eggs is a pitiful statement for a Christian to make to the world. so i set out to read and share with my friends the scriptures that lead us to that glorious day of victory. i wrote verses each day on my facebook page and by friday of that week i was emotionally ecstatic and truly filled with awe and honor. i could hardly wait for sunday to arrive to celebrate in worship to Him.

saturday came and ron and i spent the day together doing old people activities; eye appointments, shopping for groceries, sitting in front of the tv watching old westerns and black and white movies. i mentioned to ron more than once that i needed to purchase small Easter gifts for the children in my sunday school class and for my secret pal. he said nothing. at one point i remarked that "tomorrow is Palm Sunday" and we would be celebrating our pastor's sixty-ninth preaching anniversary. he spoke not a word. again i said that i was glad i had everything ready for church tomorrow for presenting Easter to the children. silence.

let me just interject here that this is all proof to me that what i have said for years is so true. he never listens to me.

saturday evening a light went off in the dull rooms of that empty cavity where my brain should reside. "ron," said i, "tomorrow isn't Easter! what on earth is wrong with me? tomorrow is Palm Sunday!" still, the man that i love so dearly just nodded his head and said not a word.

sunday morning came and off to church we went. there were no children in my classroom, so i ventured down the hall to sit in on my favorite adult class, perched myself on a chair, and prepared for a great hour of some of the best teaching i have ever experienced.

i can't tell you how it happened. i don't remember anyone saying anything to tip me off. but all of a sudden (you know, that light in the empty hole in my head) i realized that i had been living in a foggy haze for the past week. this wasn't Palm Sunday. this wasn't Easter Sunday. it would be another week before we would celebrate Christ's entry into Jerusalem city, and two before we would sing "He Arose". can you just imagine how i felt, the thoughts i was thinking about myself, the humiliation of knowing that facebook readers were probably scratching their heads wondering why i was writing such things two whole weeks ahead of schedule?

my only explanation, and thank God i have one, is that i am old. age does strange things to your body and to your mind. all of us age differently. some are old at 50. some still climb mountains and ski at 75. some become Bible scholars and preach until they can hardly stand or see. some go off temporarily into self- manufactured worlds that don't exist yet. some just mentally go away.

i say all this for two reasons. one: i'm so embarrassed about this happening. i'm mystified at why it happened. two: this occurrence needs to be recorded for future reference. it may happen again. if so, let's consider what needs to be done, you know, like take her keys away so she doesn't stray like a lost kitty. perhaps even put bars on the doors and windows to protect the neighbors. but, above all, we need to recognize that this woman is just losing her cabbage, and patience and understanding are necessary. i plea to you for patience and understanding.

if it never happens again we can just chalk it up to an idiot in her dotage.

so, that's my story, and i'm sticking to it! the next story posted here is the Good Friday story that i wrote in my dotage....i hope.