The NCIS Crossover Season Premier inspired me to do a little crossing over on my own! I will be traveling over the next few weeks, so I decided to crossover my writing responsibilities. My favorite newsletter submissions will appear on my blog so they can feel the UMC love! AND my all-time favorite faith-based blogs will be shared here in this newsletter. Crossing over and sharing all the parts of my life, makes sense right now. Enjoy this reader favorite which so many of you will instantly relate to in some way.
New dress-black, to try and make me feel thin. New shoes-red, with stiletto heels to make the outfit pop. I thought I was looking pretty good!
Looking good takes time, so I was running late. I parked my black Subaru (black is apparently a thing for me), stepped out the car, and put one shoe directly in a melted, gooey pile of what I could only imagine was a full pack of well-chewed watermelon bubblegum.
Instead of taking the pump off, I leaned over, balancing myself on the open car door to try and scrape the gum off my pretty red shoe. The last thing I remember before opening my eyes again was my ankle giving way and grabbing the door.
Did I mention – I was in the Walmart parking lot? In my rush to get where I was going, I made a quick stop by Walmart for you guessed it – red lipstick to match my gum-covered shoes. My daughters have always teased me that as any true Southern mother, I never leave home without hairspray and lipstick (#Truth).
When I open my eyes, two wide-eyed teenage boys were peering down at me and asking, “Hey lady, are you okay?”
Let me think for a minute. I was lying in the Walmart parking lot with my dress now stuck in the watermelon gum as well as my amazing red shoe, and my head really hurt. I was not sure where my purse went. There was a young man with what appeared to be a blue Mohawk standing over me. His friend was wearing a Fleetwood Mac T-shirt. What year was this again? I was not wearing lipstick. I was late. Was I, in fact, okay?
It’s in the moments like these that I know I cannot be alone in questioning my life. Who cares if my lipstick matched my shoes? Why did I feel more comfortable in a black dress than my favorite color, red? Why on earth was I in such a rush all the time? Am I okay? I looked around, and I didn’t see anyone else lying in the parking lot. I assumed that meant everyone else had their life together except for me. For a second, I thought I might burst into tears, but then I felt an overwhelming sense of comfort and heard a soft whisper, “You are okay.”
Life is hard. I am like women everywhere and feel as though I have to be some kind of a perfect life-handling machine. The truth is, I struggle in many of the very same ways every other woman struggles. I try to balance work, family, friends, commitments, and what seems like an ever-growing list of to-do items. I compare myself to other and can be insecure sometimes.
Some days I roll like a rockstar and others – I lay in a parking lot covered in gum. You know what? That okay! The only perfect person to ever walk this earth was Jesus Christ. That means it’s okay for me to lose focus, get in a rush, and make a bit of a fool of myself in front of strangers. Tomorrow will be another day. Perfection is off the table.
Maybe God was trying to humble me a bit? I imagined him laughing a little and saying, “Girl, forget about that lipstick! You have important things to do for the kingdom today!” That image brought a smile to my face as I sat up and said to the growing crowd of onlookers, “Yes, I am okay. I will be just fine.” Not only did I say the words, but I knew they were true. I will be fine and so will all of you!
— Kim
You can reach out to Kim Smith, Sound District Lay Leader, by email at k.smith@nccumc.org