Caught Up in a Whirlwind

When I was in high school, my grandmother used to have bible study in her kitchen on Wednesday nights.  It was just her and I, but she acted as if there were 30 people in the room.  She'd begin the study with prayer and then she'd tell me to turn to a specific passage in my bible and she'd read while I followed along.  Once, we studied Eli and how he heard the voice of God calling him and he thought it was his teacher.  That lesson reminded me that when I hear strange voices...to always say "Yes Lord...Thy Servant Heareth!".  After a while when I got tired of the stares from me shouting to the sky, so I only said it in my head after the first few times. 

Another time we studied Elijah, one of the greatest Prophets of the Old Testament.  He went to heaven riding a chariot that was caught in a whirlwind.  He threw his cloak down to his apprentice Elisha and basically said, "See ya at the Crossroads!"  The lesson learned in this story was that when my grandmother said those famous words of Elijah, "When you see me go up..." that meant, "If you're not ready when I leave this house, your butt is getting left!"  I was left...a few times, because I didn't catch on (I was slow on the uptake at times!).

As life has been happening around me, I've been caught up in the whirlwind that it has created.  I remember a post that I did a couple years ago about being on autopilot - where I did everything automatically, without even thinking.  Of course, it's a consequence of routine.  Yep...I'm back there again...hehe.  The irony is that I recognize it immediately.  So what am I doing to remedy it?  I've decided to adopt a dog!  OK OK...before you get on me about Jo Jo and the saga of the cute Min Pin that I couldn't handle...hold on to your seats!  I'm adopting a Doberman!  Yes...I'm absolutely crazy.

They say that pets are salve for the painful soul.  My soul is painful at times...especially when I think about the terrible dating scene.  I also hear that pets are good for the spirit.  My spirit needs a crutch at times...I'm sure that when I'm feeling abandoned and lonely, Mo (the Dobie) will come and do something really funny and cute, like try to sit on my lap - did I mention that he's 80lbs?!  They say that pets are good for your physical well being.  There's no doubt that I will be walking Mo outside (with pooper scooper in hand), as I am not open to someone (is a dog a "one"?) else marking my property...especially through urine and adult sized poop!  Besides...deep inside, I do want to scare those lil chumps who were throwing rocks at my house a couple months ago!  Yes, I know that it's mean...but so was that bill when I had to replace my siding.  That was one manicure down the drain!

At any rate...someone I spoke to recently told me that he quit his job and is taking a vacation.  Not a short vacation, but like for about a year.  He just wants to live life as it happens and see the world along the way.  He made me think about myself and how I've gotten caught up in the whirlwind again; and that shaking it up a liittle bit always makes life more interesting.  While he's on vacation, I'll be following him through his blog to hear about his thoughts on not working by choice and seeing things that he's never seen before.  Talking about spontaneous...I don't think that I could ever stop what I'm doing today and not even consider tomorrow.  I admire that.  Check it out: Scottie E's Great Adventure.

So here I am...pulling myself out of the whirlwind...

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