SHEsaysWITHaSMILE.blogspot.com

-k-

first thing i need you to do, is look at the woman in line, about 7 or 8 people behind me, wearing a light colored, long sleeve shirt over a bright blue t-shirt, holding joyce meyer's book, purse strap on her left shoulder, blond hair.

find her? well, that is kathy littlejohn, and i can tell you what she's thinkin' as she's lookin' at me

she's thinkin'

that stinker-pot-of-a-christian! she just cut in front of 500 other people! to think i helped her at all! -or perhaps her thoughts are much worse depending on her maturity level...

the second i uploaded these pictures and saw her in line... lookin' directly at me, i covered my heart, then my face, then just started laughing in embarrassment

but i can explain! i can explain!


anyone who knows me even a spreckle knows i'm not the type to cut in line; ever. /save that occasion liz lifted the rope for me spontaneously at the avatar movie

but other than that, really.

why just last weekend i waited

and waited, and waited, and waited, and waited, in line with my son for the lego convention at the marriott in fremont. and it was a cold and rainy day... but we waited some one hour and fifteen minutes. patiently. enjoying each other's company.. without complaint. and not once did it cross my mind to try and find some way we could sneak ahead, cut in front, get in early...

and the thing is

when i drove to concord around 11am for joyce meyer's 12p book signing at the sam's club

and learned that some people had arrived as early as 6:30am to stand in line

and realized i way underestimated how many people, how much time...

well, the thing is

i didn't once consider finding a way to sneak ahead or cut in this line under this circumstance either. swear it.

i was most willing to get my number, stand in line, take my turn. -but i do admit

when i looked at the line which swirled around and in and out of the rows and rows of products, and i looked at my phone for the time, and i calculated what time i would need to be back in my car in order to pick up the kids from school on time

the odds were not in my favor.

but! let me give this a go, see what happens. maybe the line will move faster than i think. and but! again, because had this one book signing line been the only one i had to stand in, maybe everything would be different

unfortunately the book signing line was the last of three lines i would need to stand in. -because a) i'm not a sam's club member and the one day pass would not print from my computer [big error reading] , and b) i didn't bring a copy of the book with me, i had to buy it there

so.. long story short, i befriend kathy littlejohn in line. she IS a sam's club member. she HAS a membership card. AND! she has been a partner in joyce meyer's ministries for some 14 years i think she told me.

so of course this kind and thoughtful christian woman allowed me to give her my cash and she purchased the receipt i needed before i could stand in the next line to show my receipt and collect my book, so i could then stand in the long, long, book signing line

and while we were chattin' kathy littlejohn did show me her book signing line number: 22.

like, she was #22 out of some 500 numbers handed out. -and she said to me, "i can pay for the book for you, but i can't let you join me in line"

"no problem. i really appreciate your help." i told her. -and truth be told, i never counted on it, and i would have never asked

so how did i end up in front of her?!?

well

just about the time i was showing my receipt and collecting my book -which took place a few feet from where

oh! look! here comes dave & joyce!

and so i hurry quick grabbed my camera for a shot.. moving ever closer to the front.

click. click.

and while i'm standing there -near the front. -well, i start to over-hear a lot of upset from the people first in line

stranger in line #1: "the numbers don't matter anymore... they canceled the number thing"

stranger in line #2: "what!? that's not fair!"

stranger in line #3: "first come. first serve. the numbers don't matter"

and i admit to thinkin

to wonderin'

to realizin' that i will not be able go to the very back of this line and get out of here in time to pick up the children

so i just kind of stood there -near the front, thinkin', wonderin' realizin' that i was going to have to

but before i could think the whole thing through

the man in charge of taking pictures for people in line, grabbed my camera from my hand

and the woman in charge of handing our books to joyce for signing, pulled my new book from my hand

it all went very quickly i promise you. -and i had about a split-second to decide whether i was going to do the write thing, or the smart thing

and so i said to myself, and to Jesus... i am so sorry, please forgive me, but

thank you! thank you! thank you!

and next thing i know dave put out his hand and i shook his hand, and think i said, "pleasure to meet you"

and then one step write, and there was joyce, sitting write next him, and, just as i had rehearsed on the drive over, i said something like,

"i just want to tell you how much i appreciated the cookie-cutter anaology, and how much i think about being Jesus pretty little tea cup"

[you just have to watch her program to know the value of these presentations; stories]

and she smiled, and i smiled. she handed me my signed (although not personalized) book, and the man handed me back my camera

and next thing you know i'm on the 680 headed back home. -and i was just giggling and smiling, sayin' thank you Jesus

because even though it wasn't write, and it wasn't fair

it was very helpful. and i couldn't help but register it as God's favor -shining on me. -me!-

so my apologies to everyone who waited, to everyone i unintentionally cut in front of

and then a prayer for a little unfair favor to shine on each of you.

hallelujah & amen!