So Close to Being a Dope

My wife is a specialty coffee junky. That means part of my day off routine is to go by one of the local coffee shops and get her "candy in a cup". We were at a shop today and nearly every parking space was taken. There was one space I could have gotten into but there was a van that had parked at an angle which made the open space too small. That forced me to circle the area like a vulture waiting to land. I don't get particularly irked at things like that but I did mention it to my wife. I had fleeting thoughts of making an announcement in the coffee shop but the fantasy of being the world's parking conscience quickly went away. On the way out of the shop two ladies in the parking lot looked at us a little too long (which is a sign in a church our size that at least one of them goes to HCC) so I waved and sure enough they came over to talk. One of them is a new Christian who said she will see us at the new member dessert this Saturday. She talked about how much the church meant to her. It was a very cool and touching moment. The kind that just makes my day. We finished talking and Karen and I walked over to our car and watched the lady that just stole our hearts walk over to the van parked at an angle. I smiled and was reminded how much of a dope I can be at times. The van had made me circle the lot and I thought it a curse and the lady who parked the van was a blessing waiting to make my day. It made me wonder how many blessings I have missed circling parking lots and thinking of inconvenience when I should have had my eyes peeled for the blessing. So, today I encourage you to look for the blessings especially around the tiny inconveniences that so commonly accompany this holiday season.