11 April 2007. A day that will live in . . .well, let’s put it this way: I’ll remember it.
Yesterday, my day started out like this at 4 AM (note especially call number eight):
It progessed to this:
and this:
And ended with this:
I went to bed on Tuesday thinking it’d be a normal Wednesday: full and long, yes, but normal. Then I woke up at 4 AM to a loud crash and banging. A girl upstairs started screaming, “Somebody help me! Somebody please help me!” I scrambled for my phone and called 911 for the first time in my life. I’m glad I’ve reached the age of 26 without having to do that.
It turned out to be a domestic dispute, not a burglar, ala last October. (But that’s a whole nother story.) The police came, things calmed down, and I lay in bed wide awake waiting for my hands to stop shaking and the adrenalin to wash out of my bloodstream. Does adrenalin wash out of your bloodstream? Anyway, I was awake for a long time, but must’ve fallen asleep at some point because I slept right through my alarm and was nearly late for class. I really had to hurry through the falling snow to get there on time.
Oh, and fall the snow did, fast and heavy through the morning and afternoon hours, eventually piling 7 inches on Milwaukee. There’s some sort of unwritten rule that you are supposed to be upset with snow in mid-April, but just look at it. It’s spectacular. I was delighted with the wintry intrusion, to be perfectly honest. ‘Course, I don’t have to be driving anywhere; that colors my perspective a bit.
When I hiked my way home for lunch, I found I had a phone message from Pastor informing me that the Wednesday night service was cancelled due to the uncertain weather. I figured I could stay home, catch some of the Brewers’ game, do some studying for my voice disorders test. A cozy snowbound evening, perfect for this time of year . . . hmm.
A little later, I checked my email. One of my supervisors had sent an email to a bunch of us saying she had an extra ticket to the Angels-Indians game (baseball, in case you, you know, didn’t know) at 6:05 PM. So much for the quiet evening poring over notes on dysphonia while listening to the Brewers. I didn’t think twice. “I’d LOVE to go!” I shot back in an email.
Side note: For those of you who are wondering what in the world the Cleveland Indians and L.A. Angels are doing playing a game in Milwaukee, it’s pretty simple. Cleveland plays in a baseball stadium with no roof. It snowed in Cleveland. A lot. They had to cancel four games. The snow wouldn’t leave. They had to play. The Brewers who are from Milwaukee play at home in Miller Park, which has a roof. The Brewers were playing the Marlins down in Florida. The Indians needed a place to play. Miller Park is empty for a few days. So . . . the Indians and the Angels came to Milwaukee for a three game series. Cleveland decided to bring their snow with them. That didn’t matter. You see, we have a roof.
Tickets were $10 for everywhere. We sat in the 2nd level, which was pretty amazing. And for this one night, I was unashamedly an Indians’ fan, as were the majority of the 16,375 other undeterred-by-a-little-snow people crammed into the two lower levels with me. It was a good-natured crowd, mostly baseball fans out to enjoy this game in a once-in-a-lifetime series. (You tell me, when do you think the next time will be that the Indians will take on the Angels in Milwaukee?) And as if we could forget the biting chill, blowing snow and slush seeping into our shoes, the organist felt compelled to play in cheery baseball style, “Let it Snow” and “Winter Wonderland”.
Some pictures of the occasion:
First pitch:
Vladimir Guererro, swinging away:
Nice li’l crowd:
The “Milwaukee Indians” lost the game 4-1, but it was quite an adventure.
Truthfully, all of life is an adventure.
Yesterday had a lot of unexpected twists and turns which reminded me of the Author of my life. He comforted me after that scary awakening. He sent an exquisite white snow to coat the trees I pass by on the way to work and school. He orchestrated events so I could go to a special baseball game, which I had REALLY wanted to do, but hadn’t even thought to pray about. And yesterday, I got an email letting me know that he had provided a scholarship that I hadn’t even applied for yet (but desperately needed).
What a wonderful way believers can live – seeing his hand in it all, from 4 AM to 4-1.
Made for Eternity 
