reasons kelly should never go anywhere alone.

I wish that I was one of those people who could do…anything…without at least one embarrassing moment.

But, alas, I’m just not.

Here’s the latest...

Job interview #1 was scheduled and on the books!  I packed up my car & headed to Williamsburg to  spend the night as my interview was scheduled for 9 am and 3 hours away from home.  I left around 5:00 and enjoyed an event-free drive to my hotel.  When I arrived in town, I decided to drive to the site of my interview so that I could easily find it the next morning.  I found the building on William & Mary's campus quickly and easily, pleased that everything was going so according to schedule (so far).

On Tuesday morning, I woke up in plenty of time to dress, mentally prepare, and find some COFFEE before arriving to my interview by 8:40.  I did not, however, anticipate the 8 mile long drive-thru line at the Dunkin Donuts on the corner that I had seen the night before.

"Okay."  I thought.  "I'll just find a Plan B...it's a college for crying out loud.  There's bound to be somewhere to find coffee."

I drove around the campus at least 3 times before I began to lose hope in finding pre-interview coffee.  And, it was about this same time that I saw the blue lights in my rearview mirror.

Wait...what?  Blue lights? 

I couldn't have been going more than 10 miles an hour, so why in the world was I being pulled over?

Of course, the spot I found to pull over in was the most awkwardly obvious spot to have an encounter with the law in the entire city of Williamsburg. 

The officer approached my window and said, "Excuse me, ma'am, but are you in a hurry or something?"

I'm going 10 miles per hour.

"No, sir, not at all!"

"Well, ma'am, you just ran right through that stop sign back there."
I swear, I never saw that stop sign.

"Sir, I am so sorry, I never saw the stop sign."

"Ma'am, can I see your license & registration?"

Oh, great.

"Are you a student here?"

Grace?  Mercy?

"No, sir...I am not from the area at all...I'm just here for a job interview.  I am just on my way there now, and I'm a bit turned around.  I was just trying to find the building from this part of campus."

The officer paused.  Sighed.  Smiled slightly.  

"Well, just be careful, ma'am, there are many pedestrians on campus...you can follow me, I'll take you to your interview."

Wait, what?

As we arrived at the career center, the police officer motioned for me to pull in beside his car.  Rolling down the window, he smiled, "Be careful, ma'am....and....good luck in there."

"Uh, thanks."  Please, dear Lord, don't let my interviewers be looking at the window.

And herein lies the narrative of how I scored a police escort to my latest job interview...and presently, reason #463,528 why Kelly should not travel alone.     

sunday lunch & a lesson in love.

Have you ever, in the middle of doing something really ordinary, heard God speaking?

In these moments, I always look around, anxious to share it with someone…anyone.  And, I know that even though I was just washing dishes, or driving in my car, or doing laundry, I will never forget the lesson as long as I live.  Because God showed up…in the middle of the mundane…the Creator of the Universe spoke to me.

I suppose I woke up with a chip on my shoulder. 

I seem to do that sometimes…particularly on Sundays.  I suppose those are the days I feel particularly insecure or especially tired…and don’t get enough coffee.    

But, after church, I was giving my dad & brother a ride home.  And, you know, it just doesn’t matter how old you get, when you’re driving and your father, the man who taught you how to drive, is in the passenger seat, I suppose you should just embrace the criticism.  It’s going to come. 

“Kelly, you really ought to slow down.”

DAD, I KNOW HOW TO DRIVE.

“Kelly, you need to ease into the brakes.”

SERIOUSLY, WHAT DO YOU THINK I DO WHEN YOU’RE NOT IN THE CAR?

“Kelly, you really shouldn’t take that curve so quickly.”

DAD, IT’S FINE…IT’S JUST HOW I DRIVE.

I didn’t embrace it.  It made me mad. 

I don’t handle criticism very well.

So, I did what every good Christian girl ought to do driving home from church (where the sermon was on unity in the body, by the way) – I blew up.  Of course, I waited to do this until we were almost in the driveway, so that I could rush inside & promptly and maturely turn on the silent treatment.

Oh, I was keeping it up pretty good.  Responding to questions of “what do you want for lunch?” with a mumbled “I’m not hungry.”  Door slammed shut.

Okay, really, not my finest moment.

It was then that my dad knocked on my door – and I will spare the details.  But, we had it out.  It wasn’t pretty.  This was about more than the car ride home.      

As he turned to leave, I, furiously angry, looked at him…really looked at him for the first time in a long time.

And I softened at what I saw.

Tired.

Lines around his eyes that didn’t use to be there. 

Sad. 

My grandfather, his closest friend, no longer here to look after.

Beaten down.

In need of encouragement, not my angry words. 

And I cried at my selfishness. 

And, God said – “I don’t care how you feel.  Get up and serve your father.”

And so I did.

We had a real spread for lunch on Sunday…and I did the dishes.  And cleaned the house. 

Because love is patient, love is kind…it is not rude or self-seeking.  It is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 

Love is not a feeling, love is action. 

Love is service.

I would tell you that I "love" my dad, but if I am honest, I rarely serve him.  By God's definition, how can you say that you love someone that you do not serve?  By God's definition, those you do not serve, you do not truly love.

By God's definition, this girl needs a whole lot of work in this department.

And, so, in the middle of a mundane Sunday afternoon, God showed up - convicting me with the reality of my own selfishness, my own pride, and the hypocrisy of my claims of who I love.

Sometimes, the clearest lesson are found in the mundane.  

Are you listening?

unredeemed.

The cruelest word
The coldest heart
The deepest wound
The endless dark
The lonely ache
The burning tears
The bitter nights
The wasted years
Life breaks and falls apart
But we know these are
Places where grace is soon to be so amazing
It may be unfulfilled
It may be unrestored
But when anything that's shattered is laid before the Lord
Just watch and see
It will not be
Unredeemed

For every choice that led to shame
And all the love that never came
For every vow that someone broke
And every life that gave up hope
We live in the shadow of the fall
But the cross says these are all
Places where grace is soon to be so amazing
It may be unfulfilled
It may be unrestored
But when anything that's shattered is laid before the Lord
Just watch and see
It will not be
Unredeemed

Places where grace is soon to be so amazing
It may be unfulfilled
It may be unrestored
But you never know the miracle the Father has in store
Just watch and see
It will not be
Just watch and see
It will not be
Unredeemed