I am a planner. I love to plan things because I'm good at it. I can make a list of everything that needs to be done and when and not miss a thing. Or so I thought. It seems no one is perfect.
Josh and Alyssa earned free tickets to Fiesta Texas from a reading program at their school during the year. It's an awesome program and it helps us out because, well, free tickets. So, I plan. I bought tickets for me, Rhett and Jason online. Even prepaid for parking so it would be taken care of. Spending money. Check. Swimsuits. Check. Sunscreen. Check. Cooler of drinks and snacks for the ride home. Check. I plan and we go. I love the excitement of taking the kids to these kinds of things. Every parent loves the joy in seeing our children happy and loving life. The drive is just long enough to build the anticipation. We park and walk straight up to the entrance. No need to stand in line, we already have tickets. I smile and hand the paper to the nice elderly woman who looks up at me, very apologetically and says, "I'm sorry, dear. These expired yesterday." I do believe I actually heard my bubble burst as the words hit me. What...? WHAT?! I turn around and walk away, leaving my family confused. But I was not confused. I looked at the ticket and she was right. I was mad at myself, embarassed. How had I missed it? I tried to disguise my disappointment in myself but it was obvious. Rhett headed straight for the ticket line. I remember saying something like, "We can't afford to buy 2 tickets full price. Nobody pays full price for tickets. We don't even have a Coke can." The lady in front of us finished her purchase and, just before she walked away and we stepped up, she turned and put something in Rhett's hand. A coupon for half off. She hadn't needed it so she passed it on to us. We actually ended up paying less for Alyssa and Josh than I had paid online for the other 3. And at that very moment, I felt it. Like a small child must feel when they are abruptly and lovingly corrected by a parent. God said to me, "Please relax. I've got this." It turned out to be one of my favorite days of the whole summer. Thank you, Lord, for reminding me that I am not running this show. When I fall short, and I will, You are there to catch me.
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