8.21.2010

right place, right time

hey all,
I think you all recall that I am trying to find 'life balance'.
In that vein I have spent friday (now today) and tomorrow not going to the gym.
I walked yesterday and will walk tomorrow...
I will be back to the gym on monday and go monday through Friday from here on out.
Today I went back to church.
I haven't been to church in a good long while..nearly a year.
yeah.
So for some reason, I woke up this morning and thought.
I really want to go to church.
So...I go.
with my youngest, my oldest had a pressing social engagement lol.
I go..
It's a 'contemporary' service.
Now, I love contemporary christian music..most of it anyways.
(that being said, I like hymns better..)
Some of it seems a bit self absorbed to me..All the hand raising and flailing.
The music was loud and jarring for some reason...and there was 30 minutes of it.
I held on through that because the pastor there always gives a good message.
And I wasn't disappointed.
It was about how being a christian means being a servant.
To put yourself under others and lift others.
I liked that.
It was about Jesus washing his disciples feet in john 13.
Question at the end..
What is your gift, how can you serve?
Good question.
So, we are done with service...and my little one wants to play on the playground.
I go out and sit on the bench to wait.
a gramma comes out and I move off the bench cause it's the only (little) seat.
I am sitting in the grass next to a woman who is on the phone.
She is crying.
Me, I never met an awkward silence I couldn't muck up.
So I say
"Boy, I'm glad to be alive today....it's a perfect day."
(It was, in my defense I have never seen, except in San diego...such perfect weather.)
She says, "Yes it's beautiful"...
Then within minutes she is talking to me.
It happens to me alot.
lol.
probably because I am the only one who feels compelled to approach the truly distraught in public places.
She is at the end of her rope in her marriage.
He is self absorbed, he cheated and came back cause 'He knew it was what God wanted.'
but he is miserableand complains constantly... and blah blah blah.
so, I tell her my little 'my marriage was crap a few years ago' story.
I told her the best thing I did was find out who I am and what I wanted and got happy.
Then tell them what you want. They will either straighten out or leave.
And if the unbeliever departs, let them depart.
I told her I knew why she was trying so hard...coming from a bad childhood I laid it all on the line trying...but eventually had to be willing to let God take it, love myself enough to BE myself and not what I thought everyone wanted.
Then she said...
I was thinking last night "I am trying so hard to be what he wants that I had forgotten who I was. I thought because he had left before, that there was something wrong with me.

I said "there was something lacking in him and there still is..and you can't give it to him."
You have to fix you.
She said 'you're right'
(I love that..lololol. No but seriously...you do have to love yourself...who did he fall in love with anyways...not some creation but YOU.)
Then she said My name is Kristin.
I said My name is Chris.

She was Where I was five years ago.
It was her first time back to church in over a year AS WELL.
Tell me God doesn't have us in the right place at the right time.

Hugs,
Chris

15 comments:

Roxie said...

Great truth, Chris. I'm glad you were there to offer her a bit of hope, strength and wisdom.

Retta said...

A divine appointment. What a blessing that must have been to her.

Loretta
=^..^=

Linda Pressman said...

I'm glad you were exactly where God intended you to be today, Chris. The same thing happened to me tonight. Talk about being of service! And, regardless of the various weight issues that accompanied the crisis in your marriage, it's also a fact that those of us who stay married have weathered some hard times.

Laura said...

What a blessing for her and for you! God has His hand in all, we just have to open ourselves to Him.

Anonymous said...

I would love to hear about where you were 5 years ago in your marriage. Do you have that posted on your blog somewhere? Your blog is very inspiring to me!
Dawn

Alexia said...

totally! you were meant to meet and comfort her.

Unknown said...

Both of you were in the right place at the right time. :)

E. Jane said...

A beautiful story, Chris, and very timely for me. I think that many of us who are overweight try to be all things to all people, and we lose ourselves for all of the effort. Sometimes it's easier to work on others than it is to work on ourselves. When we work on ourselves, we have to get honest and figure out who we are and where we really want to go. When we're no longer hiding in the food, emotions and feelings have to be dealt with. That's where I am right now.

Robin said...

Your post made me cry. Someday I will have to explain my lightboard theory.It's too long for comments and too strange for a blog, so not sure how that will happen. But, I love how people reach out and touch each other at just the right time.

Anonymous said...

What amazing timing - aren't you glad you were able to be there for her?

Allan said...

I would go to church, but who needs to tempt fate and all....Lovely story, still dont like fish ?

Anonymous said...

We are always in the right place at the right time. Good you were there today.

And you're right, tap, tap, tapping the brakes does nothing to stop the train. :-)

99ToGo said...

How beautiful is that? So glad you shared...

Sevenbeads said...

When we help others we end up with so much more for ourselves. Win Win.

bbubblyb said...

Great story Chris. It really is true God puts us where we need to be.