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It wasn’t so much what happened
last Thursday, but what could have happened. That those “could
have’s” did not actually happen made me ever so grateful, and while
I don’t like to dwell on what if’s, sometimes just considering the
possibilities changes your perspective.
It was just after five in the afternoon. I was a bit annoyed, having
made a needless trip to pick up a child that didn’t need to be
picked up—a communication snafu in a busy day. I sat at the wheel of
the mini-van in a center turn lane of Algonquin Road, waiting for a
gap so I could make a left turn across two on-coming lanes of rush
hour traffic. They had no stop sign, I’d have to wait for a break
and scoot across. As I saw a good sized gap in traffic, I pushed the
gas to inch forward in my turn lane. Ka-THUNK! Went the car, and
suddenly, the accelerator became completely useless. The engine
revved as if the car were suddenly in neutral, but the car didn’t
move.
I was not in the on-coming lanes, where two cars were speeding
toward me, side by side, at 45 miles an hour. I was still,
amazingly, in that center turn lane. I shifted into reverse only to
have the car make a terrible grinding noise, but it would not move
in reverse either.
I sat, adrenalin pumping, two lanes of cars whizzing by on either
side. Less than 30 seconds into this predicament, a car pulled up
next to me. I lowered the window—the car engine was still running,
the car just couldn’t move. “Are you alright?” the driver asked,
then smiled. “Hey, Keri!”
It was Kurt, a guy who goes to my church and lives a few blocks
away. Or an angel, dressed up as Kurt.
A few moments later, Kurt helped me push the van off the busy
highway and onto the side street, where I left it parked with the
hazard lights flashing while Kurt drove me the two blocks to my
house. I called my husband, then a tow truck.
Why did my axle break at that moment? I believe it was the grace of
God.
It could have broken earlier that day, when I was in East Garfield
Park, a rather dangerous neighborhood on the city’s West side. It
could have broken when I was downtown on Michigan Avenue or the
Eisenhower expressway.
It could have broken last weekend when I was driving down I-90 at 75
miles an hour on my way to Indiana, or while I was driving home from
Indiana through a snowstorm.
It could have broken later that night, when I was on my way to a
speaking gig about 45 minutes away. (I ended up driving my husband’s
car to that commitment.)
That axle could have broken five seconds later, leaving my car
unable to move out of oncoming traffic, and the results would have
been disastrous. That, even as I sat in my car, was what gave me
pause. I watched those cars speeding by. If I’d gone even a foot or
two into the oncoming lanes, those cars would not have been able to
stop or avoid me.
Coming an angel’s wing width from losing or at least forever
changing my life,
I am changed. What did not happen, when compared to what could have
happened, has changed my perspective on everything. Small annoyances
are no longer such a big deal. I find this “could have” has made me
more loving, more forgiving, so much more grateful. After nearly 16
years of marriage, there are times when I must truly decide to love
Scot (and he must do the same for me). Some days, that is not an
easy decision. But that night, it was easy. I was deeply grateful
for him, and for our marriage, and for the fact that he waited for
the tow truck while I went to my speaking engagement.
The next morning, and most mornings since, I’ve sat and just watched
my children eat their breakfast, reveling in the gift of being
alive, thoroughly enjoying the privilege it is to watch a healthy
child eat cereal, to have him look up and grin at you for no reason.
It’s sheer gift.
This “could have” also seems to me God’s way of reminding me that
there is work yet to complete, purpose yet to be fulfilled.
And I am inspired in a fresh way to embrace that purpose, complete
that work, and enjoy every minute of it, because you just never
know.
A friend of mine used to say, “Every day is a gift, that’s why they
call it the present.” A corny line, perhaps, but also profoundly
true.
What will you do today to unwrap the present of another day?
Until next time,
Keri
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Boomer Babes |
Boomer Babe
Blog Team:
Fellow author and friend Allison Bottke has invited me to be
a part of an exciting new blog she’s starting,
www.BoomerBabesRock.com/blog
Allison, author of the God Allows
U-Turns series and 21 other great books, has assembled six
Boomer Babes to co-author this new blog she describes as a
place “where fun, fashion, food, family, facts, and faith
merge to empower and inspire boomer women all around the
world to pursue their dreams!" Now, I am just barely a Baby
Boomer (I make the cutoff by one year!) but I do believe in
encouraging and empowering women, so I’m honored to have
been invited to be a part of this new blog. I’ve been
posting on Thursday, but I hope you’ll check it out as often
as possible, and leave me a comment so I know you’ve been
there! To find out more about the boomer blog and Allison's
new monthly "Boomer Babe Dream-Zine," just go to the Boomer
Babes Rock! web site now at
http://www.BoomerBabesRock.com and you'll see the
subscription sign-up boxes on the right.
 Fasting:
Spiritual Freedom Beyond Our Appetites
by Lynne M. Baab.
InterVarsity Press, 2006
$12.99
With Lent
just around the corner, here’s a great book to challenge and
encourage you. While fasting is not a popular discipline these
days, Baab argues that practiced rightly, fasting brings us
freedom.
The book points toward fasting not just from food, but from
things like television, gossip and other distractions of our
frenetic culture.
“Christian fasting is the voluntary denial of something for a
specific time, for a spiritual purpose, by an individual,
family, community or nation.”
The book explores the history of fasting in Christendom and in
the Bible, and offers tips for those who want to explore this
practice.
Importantly, the book points out that in the early church,
fasting was a regular practice, and “food that would normally
have been eaten was to be given to the poor.”
Isaiah 58 in the Bible gives guidelines for fasting. It’s not
meant to be a legalistic practice, but rather, to enable us to
share what we have with the poor.
To fast from needless, recreational shopping, or to eat more
simply, could accomplish these same things.
I recommend this book to anyone, even if you are skeptical about
fasting. It’s well-written and easy to read, but will challenge
and encourage you to deepen your faith.
You can
purchase this book for $12.99 with free shipping by
clicking here.
 Nickel
and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America
by
Barbara Ehrenreich
Owl Books, 2001
$12.99
This book’s
been around for a few years but the problems it explores still
exist, in fact, are likely even worse.
The author, a journalist and Ph. D, decided to go “undercover”
and take a series of minimum wage jobs, to see if she could
afford housing and other basics while working as a maid or a
retail drone.
The book that chronicles her struggles became a best-seller, and
a story everyone in America should read.
Reading the details of the struggle of the working poor may seem
a bit of a melancholy topic. But my prayer is that it will
inspire you to action.
You can
purchase this book for $12.99 with free shipping by
clicking here.
The season of Lent is
coming, starting on Ash Wednesday, February 21.
I thought I’d share with you a column I wrote a few years ago.
http://www.ivpress.com/keriwyattkent/articles/ashwednesday.html
“Is not this the kind
of fasting I have chosen: to loose the chains of injustice and untie
the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and break every
yoke? Is it not to share your food with the hungry and to provide
the poor wanderer with shelter?”
--Isaiah 58: 6,7
Think of a time
when something happened that made you grateful to be alive, a time
perhaps when you felt God’s protection or provision. Journal about
it—write it down as if it were a story someone who didn’t know you
would read. What does remembering that incident do for your level of
gratitude?
Consider some form of fasting, either in conjunction with the Lenten
season or as a regular practice. What habits or things seem to have
a grip on you? Pray for God’s direction on what you need to fast
from. Perhaps shopping, gossip, Internet, television?
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My recent “Fresh Air” article in
Today’s Christian Woman magazine
http://www.christianitytoday.com/tcw/2007/001/3.26.html
has garnered a lot of attention from bloggers. Some
commentary was rather negative, but most was quite positive. Please,
if you have questions about this article, or Oxygen, please feel
free to get in touch.
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Many bloggers have
given both the book and the article positive reviews, including one
woman in New Zealand who wrote to ask me about the article and then
shared our e-mail conversation (with my permission and blessing) in
her blog. To read our conversation click here:
Transcendental Meditation & Prayer: A Short Discussion with Keri
Wyatt Kent
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A blog for pastors did a review of
Oxygen, here’s the link. Praying Pastor Blog -
http://prayingpastorblog.blogspot.com/index.html
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A writer named Tyora Moody did a nice
review on her blog site:
http://www.tywebbin.com/cookie/blog/archives/166.
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My article on competitive parenting
(no, it’s not a sport!) was featured in both the print and on-line
versions of MomSense magazines this month. Here’s the link to the
on-line:
http://www.christianitytoday.com/momsense/2007/001/6.18.html
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My column this month on Today’s
Children’s Ministry website, For Your Soul, is about the practice of
personal retreat. If you serve in any capacity as a volunteer at
your church, or just serve your family (parenting is the ultimate
“children’s ministry” in my book), I hope this column will encourage
you to care for your own soul as you care for others.
http://www.christianitytoday.com/childrensministry/articles/personalretreat.html
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Keri will be the featured guest on Moody Radio's Midday Connection
on Wed., February 21. The show airs on Chicago's WMBI, FM 90.1, from
noon to 1 p.m. Central Time. Or you can listen on-line at
www.middayconnection.org,
or on your local Moody broadcasting network station. If you miss the
actual broadcast the show will be archived on Midday's website as
well.
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Keri was interviewed by Katherine Cooper recently about her book
Oxygen. Katherine is a single, 20-something, who hesitated to
interview the author of a "mom book" but found that Oxygen is a book
that speaks to women of every generation and every life situation.
Listen to her podcast interview
here.
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If you serve in
children’s ministry or teach Sunday school, consider attending
Willow Creek’s children’s ministry conference, to be held at Willow
in South Barrington, IL, March 15-17. I’ll be leading two workshops
at the conference, and there is a great lineup of main session
speakers: Dr. Henry Cloud, Tami Verville, David Staal and others.
Nicole C. Mullin is leading worship. I’ve attended this conference
before—it is incredibly helpful and lots of fun, too! To register,
go to my column on Today’s Children’s Ministry (see above link) and
look for the ad for the conference.
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Keri will be
speaking on “God’s Whisper in a Mother’s Chaos” at 9 a.m. Thursday,
Feb. 15 to the Moms United group at Zion Lutheran Church in Marengo,
IL. For details phone the church at 815-568-6564.
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Keri will speak
on "Breathe: Creating Space for God in a Hectic Life" at 9 am on
Wednesday, Feb. 28 for the MOPS group at First Assembly of God
Church, 1741 Essington Road, Joliet, IL.
On-line book club: If you’re
interested in reading my new book, Oxygen: Deep Breathing for the
Soul, you’ll want to join my new on-line book club, Talking
About Oxygen. It’s a free Yahoo group. Here’s how it works: each
week, you’ll read one chapter of Oxygen. Everyone in the
group will receive an e-mail from me on Mondays, reminding you which
chapter we’re reading, and giving you a question or two about the
chapter to think about. Group members can go to Yahoo and post a
question, response, comment or whatever (all posts have to be
approved by the moderators). You can read others group members’
posts on the site, or request to have them e-mailed to you when you
sign up. I’m hoping this will become a virtual book club and a way
for readers to connect with me and with each other. Joining is easy,
go to the following url:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/talkaboutoxygen, then click on
sign in. If you don’t have Yahoo you will be prompted to create a
free account. Please forward the link to anyone you’d like to invite
to the group. Or try the link below. If you have any trouble please
reply to this newsletter and I’ll send you a personal invitation.
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February 13,
2007
Connecting with
Keri Wyatt Kent
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Oxygen: Keri's
new book!
Keri Wyatt Kent's newest book is titled
Oxygen: Breathing for Your Soul.
"Breathe"
In Breathe:
Creating Space for God in a Hectic Life, Keri looks at how the
hurried pace of our lives affects us spiritually.
Connect with Keri in Person
click here to see my speaking schedule
Visit
Keri Wyatt Kent's Website
Visit MOPS
Contact Keri |
