A Tap on the Shoulder

Do you ever get the sense that God is trying to tell you something?

You know what I'm talking about, one of those heavenly taps on the shoulder.

For me, they are usually promptings to do something for someone or change something about myself.

Last week it was a loud and clear CHANGE something, Kimberly.

Those aren't so fun.

It started on Monday.

Samantha and I picked up the twins from school for their monthly visit with Dr. Money Bags, (aka the orthodontist).    We have a regular routine of dropping them off, then we hurry to Wendy's, pick up lunch,  back to the orthodontist just in time for them to be done.  We sit in the car and have lunch together and then it's back to school.  We only have a 45 minute window to accomplish all this, so time is tight.  

We all know the drill and it works out well most of the time.  Sami and I were in the drive thru   part of the routine and I have to say, it was taking a long time.  There was a large, white van full of kids and an overworked mom ahead of us.  I was singing along to the radio when Samantha rolled down her window and shouted at the van, "Come on Lady!  Let's get a move on here!"

SAM! I gasped.

Shocked-  I wondered where she had heard that.

As quick as the question popped into my head, so did the answer.

From. Me.

I had to confess that I am a mutter-er.

I don't honk or give nasty looks but I do mutter.

I mutter and now my two year old does too.

I thought about my impatience, I don't like to wait.

I vowed to be more patient.

I vowed to stop muttering.

Unfortunately, I quickly forgot about my new vows.

A couple of days later part two of the message came.

Sami and I were heading into Discovery Gateway (aka her favorite place on earth).

We walked up the stairs with a mom and a little girl who looked about 18 months old.

They were a few steps ahead of us and moving quite slow.  They stopped at the color wheel and we had to wait behind them, they stopped at the bubble canisters and we had to wait again.  Finally I asked Sam if we could skip the big coin bowl and just go straight to the admissions window.  She wanted to wait for a turn but I was done being behind an overly patient mom who let her little girl touch and explore everything.

So we politely went around them and got in line.  Soon they were right behind us.  

The woman at the window gave us our bracelets and we were walking into the museum when suddenly music started blasting, guys with tv cameras rushed in, smiling people in fancy suits and dresses clapped and cheered. Confetti, balloons and a $500.00 gift basket appeared.

It turns out that the overly patient mom was the 1,000,000th visitor to Discovery Gateway.

Guess who 999,997 and 999,998 were?

"Aww, you were so close", said the cute girl at the admissions window.

You have no idea is what I wanted to say back.

So there you have it.

Two painful yet heavenly reminders that I need to be more patient, less hurried.

More cheerful, less mutter-y.

I get it, I really do.

I'm working on it, I really am.

So the next time you get one of those little heavenly, sometimes painful taps on the shoulder, my advice is to take the easy way out...  listen.