Wiggle Room In the Schedule

It's been one of those weeks. Or months... Maybe the last couple years. I have been learning how to not be so busy. It's a fight. Today started off all wrong, or so I thought.

Zoe, the puppy would not go potty for me this morning before I left for work. She's usually very good, might take some doing to get her out of bed, but once she's outside, she wants to get it over with. This is a yawn. "I'll just lay down out here."

I went to work and called Mom on my break since I doubted Zoe could hold it for 20 hours. She said she'd walk over and let her out. After work, since Zoe had gotten a later bathroom break, I felt like I could stop and look at some red impatients and maybe think about spending the money on them. I got over there and a lady was sitting behind the flowers between them and the wall and started talking to me. Asked me why the red. Then she told me she hadn't had a cigarette in 2 years. Hmmm, ok, I didn't see a cigarette in her hand... I said "But here you are sitting on the smoking bench..."
"I know! And all the church people are going to come by and see me sitting here!" I laughed and walked around the plants recognizing this for what it was. A set up.

So I look at her and to sum up, we have an addiction trying to come back, the worst day she's had in 2 years, a brace on her leg and I could tell she probably has trouble fitting in and finding friends.
"Ok God, where do we start?"
"Just let her talk."
"I can do that."
So she talked. She unloaded. And it wasn't your run of the mill problems, it was problems that the local media has been on top of, but I didn't realize it was her family. Wasn't even real to me until I was hearing it from her and I hadn't heard the big evil part of what happened. And it got spiritual real fast. I didn't steer it at all. She lit her cigarettes but was mostly too busy talking. She had moved back fairly recently to be with family that was in a point of turmoil, but wasn't strong enough to not get sucked in. She didn't have an outside person to talk to, was in a church that probably doesn't understand anything about warfare and said I was her first friend. I like her. I drove her home and prayed for her. I would never have had the opportunity had I been in a hurry. So many other days have been like that, the times where I don't have a plan are the great days. I can't shun schedules and responsibility. But I don't have to cram it all in so tightly that I can't stop for one person. We'll see how long this change of mind lasts.

I did buy the red impatients. Every time I look at em I'll think of her.