Some days you're the windshield...

It's been one of those days.

I was doing some field work this morning and as I walked beneath a large, shady tree, I felt something land on my head.

Somewhat apprehensively, I realized that either a bird just dropped on me, or a leaf landed in my hair. I reached up to wipe off whatever it was, really expecting my unprotected hand to meet the dry scratchiness of a dead leaf.

Nope.

With a girly screech I made a throwing motion with my left hand and with my right, threw my clipboard to the ground in surprise. (I'm a girl, by the way). I looked at my hand, trying to find the stinger embedded between my first and 2nd finger on the left hand.

Before my very eyes it began swelling..in more than one place. A yellow jacket, maybe? In the area where I worked I saw several of them so I surmised there must be a nest nearby.

Boy, did it sting! Thus the name for the little poison-bearing bug weapon.

I was able to complete my work and as I drove away to head back to the office early, I heard the cell phone chirp at me...and realized it was out of power! The charger in the company vehicle was not compatible with the cell phone.

I realized that I could look at this in a couple of different ways:

1. I could see this as being a "bug" kind of day...you know the saying: "Some days you're the windshield, some days you're the bug".

2. I could thank God that I am not allergic to bee stings, as I was working in the field alone AND the phone was useless for a 911 call;

or

3. I could be disappointed that I'm NOT allergic to bee stings, as had all gone in that direction, I could be standing before the Lord meeting my judgment and hopefully entering the pearly gates to spend eternity with the Heavenly Father. So by that logic, I should be disppointed that I'm not dead.

Of course, this last idea is somewhat problematic; I'm not sure I'm ready to meet God and even though I have confidance in the mercy of Jesus Christ, I do not have confidence in my own ability to judge the sinfulness of my wretched soul.

So what have I learned from this day? A few things:

1. I'm still not allergic to bee stings
2. I trend more towards optimism and even when I was stung, I actually did NOT swear like a sailor! (an old habit of mine..am I rid of it?)
3. I still scream like a little girl. How embarassing!
4. I obviously believe in heaven because I felt a sense of loss of a great thing when I didn't get to die and meet God. I have lots of questions to ask him.
5. I am not ready to meet God
6. If I'm not ready to meet God, then I question the state of my soul. therefore...
7. I need to go to Confession and be healed of whatever sins ail me. I need to complete a good examination of conscience.

So! I guess the above may prompt questions about the Catholic faith from the "once saved, always saved" crowd, and I welcome your questions.

I just caution anyone who has decided that I am not "Saved"...don't try to convert me or you may find yourself converting to the Holy Catholic Church! :-)

God bless you all! May your next days find you more as the windshield rather than the bug, unless you enjoy the lessons learned by the days you are squashed.