Saturday, January 20, 2018

A Series of Unfortunate Events

Many years ago, I found a deal, an audio book for one dollar,  A Series of Unfortunate Events.  It was a miserable book, aptly named, and we threw it away after we got horrified by what a bad/sad/ridiculous story it was.  I deplore books with no happy ending.

Yesterday was Paul's first time back at schools, and he had his own series of unfortunate events, but his have happy endings and happy new beginnings.

He had two schools, and the first went fine, but the second was somewhat of a trial.  They told him he could set up for the assembly.  So Paul and Timothy went to set up their equipment and book display.  Then they told them to set up in a different auditorium. Paul and Timothy took everything down, brought it all to the other place and set it all up again.  And waited.

He tried to use the time well, so he went to use the rest room.  Bad moment.  He met a girl coming in as he was coming out. OOPS!
"Sorry," he said, shaking his head as he noticed the men's room opposite.
"Sorry," she replied, because, what else can you say when you meet a man coming out of the ladies' room?

Then he went back to his waiting, hoping not many had noticed his mistake.  After an hour of waiting, he went to check at the office.  They told him to move back to the first auditorium.  He and Timothy moved all their equipment and set up again.  It was hot, and the windows were closed.

He waited some more and checked again for when they were coming.  Finally, after waiting more than two hours, they were told to begin.  By now, our guys were tired, hungry,  feeling low and very hot.  When they called Paul's name, he uncrossed his legs to go up to the stage, but he discovered his foot was dead asleep!  He fell!  He got up and staggered toward the stage, having a head rush and a dead food.  He looked like a drunk.  It felt like a long time for blood to reach his head and feet, but he started preaching and drawing without comment.

After that program, there was another wait before the next group, but it eventually happened.  They finished after 1:30, and headed for KFC on the double.  Food helped a lot, but then they got Paul's order wrong. His mashed potatoes and coleslaw were missing.  He went in and got it.

He went back out to the car to eat, and then looked at the receipt.  They hadn't charged him for the potatoes and slaw.  Oh brother.

He went back in to make that right.  Thankfully he got the same girl who had given him the goods so he didn't have to explain too much.  But then, as he left, he walked smack dab into a glass wall, and smacked his forehead good.  That made him think of Ezekiel 3:9, " As an adamant harder than flint have I made thy forehead..."  :-)    A hard headed, staggering preacher!  A man watching said, "Sorry."  Indeed.

So was the day a disaster?  Well, I'm writing the unfortunate events, but there were about 1300 people who watched a tall white guy draw a big picture of a narrow road to heaven and a wide road to hell, and how we need to repent and turn to Jesus for mercy.  Many did at each of the three services.  In addition two schools yesterday set up times for him to preach and draw in the next few days.  There were problems for sure, but it was worth it.  And he's looking forward to preaching and drawing again--nine times next week.

Paul didn't mind my telling you all this stuff.  We just listened to Otto Koning's talk on "Surrendering your reputation to God."  (He's funny, interesting and helpful.  You can listen to him at http://www.thoughtsonchristianliving.org/audio-index-ok.html  or can download those to MP3. )
( This is a from a church, not from the day of unfortunate events.  He's probably glad no one took pictures of the fall, the crash, or the bathroom incident.  :- )




2 comments:

  1. What a day!!!
    My dear friend accidentally used a men's room at Clemson University. So much traffic was coming and going, not realizing a lady was "trapped" in there, that she finally yelled out "I'm coming out now!! Yes, I'm in the wrong restroom!!" Dead silence. Everyone cleared out. :-)

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    1. That's hilarious! And I'm so glad it wasn't me, or mine. Wendy's 5 year old went in to a men's room once, and sat in the urinal! Wendy took the time to snap a picture before rescuing her.

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