...for a very important date!

Chapter One - Down the Rabbit-Hole

"...when suddenly a White Rabbit with pink eyes ran close to her. There was nothing so very remarkable in that; nor did Alice think it so very much out of the way to hear the Rabbit say to itself "Oh dear! Oh dear! I shall be too late!"...but, when the Rabbit actually took a watch out of its waistcoat-pocket and looked at it, and then hurried on, Alice started to her feet, for it flashed across her mind that she had never before seen a rabbit with either a waistcoat-pocket, or a watch to take out of it, and burning with curiosity, she ran across the field after it, and was just in time to see it pop down a large rabbit-hole under the hedge."

-Alice's Adventures in Wonderland

Lewis Carroll

When I was 7 years old, I received both Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass from my Great Aunt Tooie. (That was what they called her...her real name was Melba...which is just as cool a name as Tooie, if you ask me. Have you noticed that our generation doesn't have interesting nicknames like that?? Maybe I'll get the grandkids that I may have someday to call me "Carebo"...that'd be wicked cool...!)

Say whatever you will about Lewis Carroll...I love these books. They were the Harry Potter of my time, in that I must've read them both about 89089023853 times in a 10 year period. I still take them out and read them. The characters are so much fun!!

However, a book review is not what I had planned for this post.

This morning, I turned to the clock and saw that it was 6:45 a.m. And then I turned and saw that Steve was still in bed. And I turned back and looked at the clock and realized that the alarm had not been set and that Steve should've been at work....well....yesterday!

He was late! Folks! Very Late!

My husband is NOT a morning person. He sets the alarm about 2 weeks in advance and then proceeds to slap the snooze out of it until he so chooses to get up. This system works for him...although it's been a personal torture for me, as I am one of those folks who wakes up THE FIRST TIME THE ALARM SOUNDS!

However, my marriage grievances are not what I had planned for this post.

Nothing is more annoying than being late for something great. We make important plans, after all, with our time...

When I was 17, I had the opportunity to go up to Chicago to a graduation of a friend of mine. The plan was that I would ride up with my pastor and his wife (who were also attending the graduation) and, because they had family up there, the plan was that I would take the train back home that evening. I had plans for the next day...and needed to get back. And I had never been on a train before. I was excited about the day. Plans were put into place and my train was scheduled to leave at 6 p.m.

We had a Very Pleasant ride up. It was a Very Pleasant graduation. As it got later in the day, I began to get excited about the prospect of my Very Pleasant train ride home. But...

BUT

BUT BUT BUT

There was a Cubs game that day. A lot of traffic. Unanticipated traffic. And since this part of the story makes me sob every time I think about it....I'll make this quick.

EventhoughReverendB.triedeverythinginhispowerandGod'spowertogetmetothestationontime

thefactremainsthatIarrivedthereat6:03tofindthatthetrainhadjustleft.

There...(sniff) I said it...

Now, I can't even begin to explain the feelings I had at that moment.

But...I'll try.

Hate. Huge feelings of hate.

I hated the Cubs. I hated Amtrak. I hated Chicago. I hated my life. I hated my luck. I hated the graduate. I was seriously considering hating my pastor. And his wonderful wife.

Hate. Hate. Hate.

I was 17. I had made IMPORTANT PLANS! And by the way, yes...to answer your question, the WORLD WAS REVOLVING AROUND ME!!!!

However, my self-centered adolescence is not what I had planned for this post.

Look at the Wonderland paragraph above again please. You'll notice something interesting there, I think.

I'll wait here while you read it again.

(some whistling...sips coffee)

Did you notice it?

It's taken me a very long time to notice it...but here's what I found:

The rabbit is too late for something...and Alice sees it...and follows it...and what happened?

She was just in time to see it pop down a rabbit-hole. And she follows it down and has her adventures.

Isn't that cool?

Sometimes, our life interruptions that annoy us so much, can actually have the power to help out someone else...if we change our perspective a bit.

Like the rabbit, we get so wrapped up in our own plans...that we don't see the ones around us.

Think about this for a moment.

If the rabbit had not been late...would Alice have had her adventures?

Maybe.

Maybe not.

I encourage you, my friend...to use a different perspective when dealing with annoying things today like being late. There may be a really cool reason for it that you didn't even consider!

Oh, and by the way, The World, (unfortunately) does not revolve around you.

Sigh.

Trust me...I know.