A Sunday Unlike Most Others

On Sunday, July 22, 2018, I made a few choices about how to spend my day. I would go to church but not my regular church; I would then find lunch and head to a friend's graduation ceremony; I would then head to Portmore to pick up my mom and then enjoy the wonderful music from the Portmore Chorale. The day went more or less as planned...except it was so much more than I planned!

I'm on medication for a week, and I decided to "google" at the types of food that I should and shouldn't eat with it. My plans for breakfast were the things I shouldn't eat, so I ended up going to Megamart for food. This is the first time I can recall doing that on a Sunday morning. I strolled out in my pink cap and top and light green pants...didn't care who thought I looked strange.

Then there was church. My home church happens to be in an area where road works are taking place, and I knew that there would be diversions and possibly no electricity. I also didn't have to teach Sunday School as it was 4th Sunday. It all aligned for me to be elsewhere, so I went to Go for God. They are doing a series about the struggles of relationships (marriage, dating, sex). It was quite an interesting sermon. PC spoke about being personal but not private in our relationships. At first, I wondered where he was going, but slowly I understood it. I also spoke with someone else attending the sermon and based on their experience, it re-enforced the message even more. He went further to highlight areas that we need to be mindful of. These include having people in your life as mentors (spiritual ones) that can help in giving sound advice about relationships and having people who will demand that your value be valued. If I were to take anything away from the message, I'd say that I need to be more deliberate in creating the right relationships that can help to guide me when the time does come for me to consider being in a relationship. 

As an aside: Throughout the day, I listened to different messages from different pastor via cable. Between church and these, the story of Ruth came up thrice. First, it related to Ruth finding her Boaz with the help and guidance of Naomi; another related to Ruth being the committed, devoted woman who didn't stay with the dead as her sister-in-law Orpah did (courtesy of TD Jakes). The final one was about how Ruth was rewarded for her faithfulness when she did eventually end up with Boaz.

After church, I saw one of the girls I help to mentor (though not enough). I was able to give her some hair care products to use on her beautiful, natural hair and then take her to a store she needed to go. That made me day brighter. Afterwards, I went to Burger King - first in ages - to buy lunch. I didn't have much time to eat before heading out again, this time to the graduation ceremony at the Arena for the University of the Commonwealth Caribbean. Truth be told, I didn't fully know the name of the university prior (it just didn't register), but it wasn't a bad way to spend a part of the day.

I left there, with the expressed intention of just picking up a document to do some work at home this week. That turned into almost an hour of doing work in the office! I left later than planned to go to Portmore to pick up my mom. And then we got lost trying to find the church. And we got there late...and missed the first few performances. It was still a good show by the Chorale. Perhaps the highlight of the night, however, was seeing my former piano teacher. She was so gracious in her praise, going as far as to say she always considered me "bright" and "intelligent" and she was so excited to see me. I actually delayed leaving so I could see her, so that was definitely worth the wait. 

The concert ended later than I expected (a little before 9pm). Suffice it to say, having not eaten more than a pack of banana chips and energy bar since lunch, I was mucho hambre! I dropped my mom home and went to KFC for dinner. I ate in the car and then took my medication. Then decided to try a route I'm not familiar with to go home. Naturally, I was unsure of my way and had to stop and ask directions. At one point, I stopped to ask two elderly gentlemen waiting for a bus, and they asked for a lift to the Boulevard. In this new (unsafe) era, most people would perhaps say no. I took a chance (in faith) and told them to come. My passengers were Messers Walker and Mills and were quite pleasant. They were appreciative of my gesture. Paraphrasing their words, they were surprised a lone female was travelling that late at night and was willing to give them a lift. The truth is that I took a second or two to decide and I felt in my spirit that it was safe. They both appeared to be in their 70s (at least) and seemed honest enough. So I took a risk. The fact that I'm writing this post means I lived to tell the tale.

That latter part of my night was something of a life lesson. I could have gone the known route home, but I thought I would go in faith via another route. In the dark, there was a bicycle rider at the first stop I made, and had I not paid much attention, could have hit him. In continuing on the journey, I ended up being a blessing to two gentlemen who could have been waiting for a long time before getting home. But it also showed that sometimes we need to step in faith and do things that seem insane or irrational IF (and only if) God is leading that way. Lesson noted.

Chances are that next week Sunday will not be as hectic or exciting. That's fine by me. At least I have this experience to "hold me over" for some time to come.