Keep 'em Comin' Bartender!

This morning (9.11) I went about doing my normal things I do. During my walk I had the fantastic opportunity to meet and greet Miss Stella. Oh this was NO happenstance meet and greet I was intentional with my yelling, “Good morning,” across the parking lot to the woman with the cane, hobbling to get out of the sun and into her cool apartment all the while walking directly for her.

Sweetheart, Miss Stella, warmly shouted, “Good morning,” to me as well. Of course, by that time the increased gate of my walk had drawn me close and she welcomed me into her ‘space’ where we chatted for some time. Miss Stella was lonely; she made it clear through the words and actions she shared. She mentioned how she had moved from New Jersey to ‘this place’ and how much she hated it, but she needed to be near her children who lived in the area. She went on to mention a couple and our front office rental agent, Lucy. Miss Stella shared all about how they had reached out to her for if they hadn’t she would be somewhere else. We visited a bit more; she with sweat running down her face mentioned how warm it was. We parted ways with hopes of seeing each other again. I love connection stories like that where I can laugh at myself. It gets even better, keep reading.

As I was grilling my chicken, doing my thing, enjoying life and turned on some blaring music, there stands a young military man greeting ME! “Hello,” I raise my voice and shout, “Hello”, go about turning my meat, minding my own business when the thought hits me, “Turn your music down. You will get to share life with this young man. Turn it off.” I did and realized Omar had a question for me. I answered Omar’s question about how to get the grill going. You see, there is a secret switch on the back of the huge outdoor grill section he didn’t know about. I then learned Omar just returned from the Netherlands from a military tour. He just moved into the apartment complex a couple weeks ago like us. We talked about many things and I shared with him my many thanks for serving our country. He drew tender in his speech as we reminisced about today, 9/11.

A Few Thoughts about 9/11 by Wendi Ann Peck

9/11, a day to remember.

9/11, a day to be thankful for what we have.

9/11, a day to say thank you to all who have served.

9/11 a day to say thank you to all who are still serving to keep our America protected.

9/11, a day to offer prayers, like every day when we think about it or see the digital clock/iPod/computer/phone display 9:11.

9/11, a day to check in on those who were most affected by this tragedy.

9/11, a day, like so many other days in many people’s lives where tragedy of this magnitude has occurred in their country and lives.

9/11, we will always remember.

9/11 is real very 364 days of the year when it is not 9/11.

As we moved on in our visit I shared that I had just made homemade chocolate chip cookies and invited him up to our apartment around 7-8 pm tonight. He delightedly said he would like to come if he could. We talked more about grilling, I shared a piece of chicken with him and he asked how I seasoned it for “this is really good and tender.” I gave him my marinade recipe freely and learned he is an avid griller who enjoys cooking shows. I learned so much about this young man.

I need to just stop and say, “Father, thank You so much for sending Miss Stella and Omar into my world so I could be Your hands, eyes, feet, light, ears, and mouth extended. Thank You for entrusting them to me today. Thank You, Holy Spirit for guiding and directing my paths. Thank You, Father, for making my paths even straighter.

Omar needed to be off and we said our farewell’s with hopes of seeing each other again someday.

Doot, dee, doo, doot, doot, dee, doo, my ‘tunes’ are back on, loud and clear to my ears, and I’m enjoying life, the grill, the sun, the beauty-everything. Along comes Mr. Brian. Mr. Brian needed a key fab to pay rent in the computer room and guess who had one. Why, of course, the person who was sent there by Father to meet him. We had a wonderful time swapping Newport News Shipyard Stories but alas, he had to leave. He showed me where he lived and I welcomed him to come visit me anytime he saw me grilling.

There you have it and that is only up to 12:30 p.m. Of course, I woke to my darling husband right next to me. I also had time with Father, Jesus & Holy Spirit during my Bible reading and journal time, which was tremendous. I cannot forget the many texts and Skype time I had with my Moon. Awesome! What in the world, is the Lord going to share with me the rest of the day? I have myself wide open, my heart exposed to Him.

A thought: what I found similar with the precious people Father sent my way today, is that they were willing to take the time to return my greeting, give me a greeting and share life with me. Those of you, who know me well, know this blessed my heart more than words can ever describe.

I wrote all of this to share a text messaging sequence between my sis, Ang, and myself it goes like this:

Me: Who knows me well enough to know this blessed by heart more than words can ever describe.

Angi: He is a pretty cool guy, that God guy!

Me: Yea, I’ll take a ‘pint’ of Him and keep ‘em comin’ bartender…

Angi: Yea, He ‘on the rocks’ me too.

Me: Umm…shaken and stirred please.

Aren’t Jesus, Father and Holy Spirit the best thing for ‘what ale’s us’?