A visibly distraught, exhausted woman came into my store yesterday. She wanted to know if she could block a number to prevent someone from calling her phone at all hours of the night and early morning.
She said that it was her work phone and someone that she used to work with was harassing her. Because the phone was used for all of her clients, she didn't want to change the number completely.
The harassing calls come from a private or unregistered number, however. I explained (and I called Verizon to verify) that I was unable to place a block without knowing the number of origin.
The former client calls several times a day and leaves messages on the office phone. She also calls the emergency number and hangs up without speaking. This has gone on for weeks.
After some time, I asked what the customer did for work.
She was a vet and, although she hesitated to tell me, the crazy lady is a cat lady. I could have guessed.
After the customer left I smiled... and shuttered.
Life's path can be filled with unanticipated twists and turns. Accidents. Poor or rash decisions. Legal loop holes.
I've been dwelling on two situations in particular. One I encountered while teaching, the other while translating.
When I think about my student, "Carrie," the words "train wreck" come to mind. She came to class for the first time two weeks after the semester had started. Late most days with excuses that included "my tires were slashed" and "my car broke down."
When she gave her oral presentation she talked about her dogs. All 17 of them.
One day she stayed late to chat with me about the legal system. Her brother was in jail and she felt that the courts had treated him inhumanely and unfairly.
Speaking of the court, I have translated for two months in a row now for a prisoner named "Efrain." He is an undocumented agricultural worker who drove while intoxicated and then fled when he was pulled over. The trooper issued him a pile of tickets: reckless endangerment, failure to obey traffic signals, fleeing arrest, etc. Some of the charges are felony charges.
The mother of Efrain's baby was in court last night, sitting behind us: the prison guard that Efrain was chained to, Miss Pope the Public Defender, and me, the interpreter. We went around and over Efrain's choices: accept a plea bargain to lesser charges that might land him in jail for just a year. Wait to find out how his plea bargain would be impacted by immigration law, Pay the bond and run back to Mexico.
In any case, it looks as if his child may never know his father because a year in jail means he will be denied citizenship. If he flees to Mexico he can never return to the U.S. Miss Pope turned to the baby's mother and kindly said, "it looks like you might be moving south of the border."
I think about these folks and I pray over my roster every semester. As we get set to begin the Fall 2010 semester I anticipate the opportunity to meet new students, many of whom inspire me as they push forward to achieve despite difficult family situations or poverty.
I've "discovered" the music of Buddy and Julie Miller. This song speaks to joy that comes out of sorrow through Jesus.
14Now we exhort you, brethren, warn them that are unruly, comfort the feebleminded, support the weak, be patient toward all men.
15See that none render evil for evil unto any man; but ever follow that which is good, both among yourselves, and to all men.
16Rejoice evermore.
17Pray without ceasing.
18In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.
19Quench not the Spirit.
I've been listening to a radio preacher speak on the power of words. Yesterday's series was entitled "The 6 Things You Should Do With Your Mouth." #2 on the list was to "give thanks," and, correspondingly, "not grumble" (as this "quenches the spirit." Notice verses 18 and 19 of 1 Thessalonians 5 above).
Ironically, my travels yesterday gave me plenty of cause to grumble. I worked at a new store located over an hour (across and into the city) from my home, leaving my oldest boy home alone for one of the last precious days of his summer vacation.
The new store is located inside a converted KFC restaurant. Brand new paint, new carpet, and new cabinetry filled the air with a toxic fog of stinky chemicals. The inventory scanners weren't working, inventory was missing (79 cell phones!) and the computers randomly stopped working.
I work with a local radio personality. He wears large, black-rimmed "fake" glasses to hide his identity. His radio voice, however, carries through the store. Yesterday he made "appointments like a dentist" with friends and family.
On the way home the expressway was reduced to one lane AND closed at another exit. At 10:30 p.m. on a Wednesday I was stuck in a line of traffic two miles long.
And so I grumbled. And grumbled some more.
How quickly my attitude rushes to "quench the spirit!"
I'm grateful that my body is healthy and I can work hard. As I drive to work I see people in wheelchairs or scooters "driving" to a store. Or folks who are broken or elderly as they struggle to cross the street to fetch their mail.
I'm grateful that we were able to send our son N to biotechnology camp where he could spread his wings and gain confidence (and perhaps be influenced to study math and science! :)
I'm grateful for the hot supper of kielbasa, corn and cheesy fries that greeted me when I got home. J had cleaned the kitchen. My husband had taken a boy to football practice and had returned home. The little ones were safe and sound in their beds (well, on the couch).
With this new blog I'll describe the joys and strains of life as a working mother of four boys. I'm a Chrstian salesperson and teacher, a computer/tech junkie living on a sheep farm, married to a terrific Godly man who is a Boy Scout Leader - health nut (my "perfect" opposite :).
