The Unexpected

Tonight was one of those nights where it reminds you that Florida is an awesome place to live. The weather was amazingly beautiful and perfect for sitting outside and enjoying dinner. I was walking out of the dining hall way a tray of food and heard a wrestling sound in the trash can as I was approaching it. During college this was something that I had grown accustomed to because on campus there were tons of squirrels that loved to find leftovers in the trashcans. I had a mental flashback to the squirrels popping out and just as I stepped out of my flashback I saw a bird jump out of the trashcan. My wife was walking a couple of steps behind me and happened to catch my gracefulness in action. To be completely honest...the bird scared the daylights out of me. I jumped back not knowing what was coming out of the trashcan and somehow forgot that I had a tray of pasta and two full glasses in my hands. I actually was able to find a way to balance it very quickly, but then gravity kicked in and my 2 full glasses started sliding down my tray towards me. That was the moment when I decided it was better to spill the entire tray on the ground than to be the proud owner of a white t-shirt with pasta/bar-b-q chicken/soda stains all over it.

It's the unexpected that always takes us for a loop. It's the flat tire on a Monday morning, realizing the deadline was yesterday and instead of next week or in this case...a bird flying out of a trash can. Until I got into college I was more of a fly by the seat of my pants kind of guy and didn't really make lists or plan things out. I was one of those students who carried his agenda with him to every class, but never wrote a single assignment down. I actually would tease girlfriend at the time (now wife) about how she would make lists to make lists. Just a few days ago I looked down at my desk at work and noticed that I had a large sheet of paper with a long list of things that needed to get done and I chuckled and thought it was funny how I made fun of J for so long about it, but now I see the value in it.

Making a list to me is a way of forming a plan of attack. Plain and simple...if I don't make a list...it won't get done. Something will come up and it will slip my mind. When you're working with deadlines and people depend on you not to forget tasks it is vital to make lists. No matter how much we plan things out we still have to know to expect the unexpected.

A key verse that sticks out to me when the unexpected throws a monkey wrench AT you is...Psalm 46:10 "Be still and know that I am God." No matter what unexpected event or circumstance comes your way...God is still in control.