A
horribly dreadful thing happened yesterday.
It was so difficult that I have a hard time thinking about it without
breaking out in a cold sweat. To start
things off, we made the fateful decision to leave the Island. That’s right.
A trek into Texas was in the books.
But that wasn’t the worst of it.
I have survived many a Texas Trip over the last 20 years. But this one had a frightening twist to
it. We went to … The Mall. Can you believe it? The Mall.
I haven’t been to one of those things in … in … well, I honestly cannot
remember the last time I went to one. So
why in the world would we go to a mall – any mall – and why would we do it the
week before Christmas?
Well,
the answer to the “why” question is a simple one. We had to pick up the final piece to a very
special thirteen-year-old birthday present for our oldest grandson Jachin. He received part of it back on his birthday
in early December. I can’t say what it
is since we haven’t presented it to him yet, but the present, taken together,
represents his attaining the rite of passage into semi-manhood (Translation: He’s a teenager). I suppose that speaks to the “when” part of
the question as well. He was born in
December. Like his baby brother will be
… if he ever decides to get born. We are
still waiting.
Once
there we decided to make the circle and see what the mall had to offer these
days. One place in particular had been
recommended to us. In fact, I had to
text our source (Cory) to get the
name of the place. Here’s the gist of
that conversation:
Me:
“What was the name of that mall store you recommended? Yep. I’m
headed to the mall. Aaaargh!”
Cory:
“Lol. It’s called Box Lunch.” ( I still say, what kind of name is that for a
store that doesn’t sell food?)
Me:
“Thanks.”
Me:
“Pray for meeeeeeee”
Cory:
“Lol. I will. I was there last weekend and it was not
fun. Good luck.”
Me:
“Aaaargh. Not helping.”
Cory:
“What I meant to say was that it was the most fun I’ve had in a long time.”
Me:
Ah, your poor, poor life.”
Cory:
“Lol.”
And
there you have it. At least I helped him
to have a chuckle out of my misery. But
you know what? It really wasn’t all that
bad. We got there early enough that we
found a parking place with no problem. I
had the love of my life at my side. We
picked up what we needed for Jachin. And
we browsed through a seasonal store called It’Sugar. Candy of every array and size you can think
of. Even Harry Potter goodies. Chris asked if they were related to the store
of a similar name in Waco, but the clerk didn’t know. We didn’t stay long in there. We were both hungry. Not a good time to be in a store that
specializes in sweets.
From
the mall we went to Olive Garden for lunch.
Actually we were within walking distance to the restaurant where we were
parked. Not that we walked. There were empty spots much closer to the
building. Much better for my aching back
and sore neck, don’t you agree? After lunch
we stopped at Lifeway Christian Store.
Kel wasn’t at work, but we have hit it off with the store manager. Matt came up to us as we browsed and asked if
we had room in our car for six bags of stuffed animals. They wanted to donate them to the fire
department to use on the trucks when a child is involved in a call. We met him around the back of the store at
the loading dock and tossed them in. Six
bags. One for each station. I detect a fire department run in my early
next week future …
Ephesians
6:11 says, “Put on the full armor of God
so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes.”
Father,
thank you for expressions of goodwill and for the ability to be a deliverer of
those expressions. Amen.
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