Off Schedule Graces

"What to do with sabbatical time?" is the question! So the first thing you do (after a smooth and parishioner filled - three other church members were on the flight - and reasonably flawless flight - while deboardingI ended up shouting for medical help for a older woman who had lost consciousness in the row behind me) is make a schedule! First there will be a late dinner like lunch, an early viewing of "Charlie Wilson's War" or "The Great Debaters", and then a late into the night evening in Orlando! The desk clerk at the hotel was very help in identifying a "good seafood" restaurant.....so off we went seeking to avoid the chain restaurants that fill this city. Having had a light breakfast and no lunch we were ready to have a wonderful healthy fish and vegetable meal. After searching for the restaurant amid the maze of malls, we were greeted with the sign on the door - "Sorry for the inconvenience, but we are closed for the month!" There went the schedule. After I called the hotel for further "seafood" procurement insight and finding out there were no non-chain restaurants of that type in that area of town, with hunger driving us we ended up in Fuddruckers - a chain high end hamburger eatery - for a healthy meal - I did put tomato, lettuce, onions and pickles on the burger - my veggie count! So we now were off schedule. After the land-lover's meal we returned to the hotel room to regroup and "get back on schedule." Now the message light on the telephone was blinking - "Oh no! A pastoral emergency!" After pushing 77 and 3, there was a message from Stephanie, the front desk worker who had given us the restaruant recommendation. "I am so sorry about the inconvenience, if you'll stop by the front desk I have left a packet of complementary tickets for local restaurants for you." It wasn't Stephanies fault that on January 4 the restaurnat would be closed. Call it customer service or call it grace. Maybe some people would have been angry, but I wasn't. I felt a moment of off schedule grace. Next thing I knew I was reading articles from the Christian Century magazine and Gretchen was catching up with a few moments of siesta time - 5:00 a.m. is an early time to rise. Before we knew it it was too late to go to the theater. However, I was profoundly moved by several articles that I had read - other off schedule graces. Well it's now time to make today's schedule - I am not planning in any off schedule graces, but, I am sure that the Spirit will provide a few. Thanks be to God. May you who read these rambling thoughts experience off schedule graces during your busy schedules.

Bob