Practice Makes Perfect?

When Alberto formed a couple of weeks ago, I thought this would be a good time for a practice drill to be sure we have our hurricane preparedness plan at home working. I asked Jim to show me how to work our new shutters which all we need to do is close, pack and leave. I like the sound of that, don’t you? Anyways, we pulled the shutters together, easy, easy, easy and then I asked, why is there a lock on the handles? He said, because you need a key and then I asked, where is the key? He looked at me as if to say, I thought you had it. When you have been married 18 years, you don’t have to speak, a “look” speaks volumes. I looked back at him and I said, no I don’t have the key so where do you think it might be? Oh brother, we failed miserably our first hurricane practice drill and a week later we still have no key. I am not stressing at this point but when Tropical Storm Beryl forms and we still have not found the key, I may become postal!

My life is a lot like this story, I can have a plan on how I think it should be but if the main key is missing then I am left feeling stressed instead. I personally always make the mistake of trying to plan my own life because I become so wise in my own eyes. Then I realize when I can’t get it right that I just need to stop looking to myself but instead look to my Heavenly Father. I am a lot like my grandchild Veronica when she was going to Joy Club at church yesterday until she saw her mother, then she changed her mind and wanted to go with her mother, then she changed her mind again crying hysterically that she wanted to go to Joy Club, then she got even more hysterical because she changed her mind again and wanted to go with her mother. By this time, my daughter Tammy decided for her that she was going home with her and that put Veronica into an emotional meltdown and she had to be carried away kicking and screaming while her mother by this time was crying too. I was ready to beat that child myself but later I thought about how much I do the same thing with the Lord, I plan to do this, then I plan to do something else and the list goes on and on and the next thing I know I am hysterical like Veronica and God decides for me what I am going to do when all I had to do was spend time with Him and he would have directed me before I got to that point. Obviously, my grandchildren have no chance with my genes. Pray for them!

Donella Gallo
"Empress" of Hurricanes