Do you ever think to yourself…I know this is gonna work out! I believe it!! Or like me…do you usually expect the very worst in order to prepare yourself for the disappointment? Well…last night I was torn between both of those feelings in a major way.
Last night, we kinda decided on the spur of the moment to go to the OU/Texas basketball game. It was free and we were hoping we wouldn’t get killed too bad…so off we went. Dave, Caleb, Lindsey, Ashtyn, Mike and I all loaded up and headed to Norman. It really was a fun game…with Durant strolling in…Ashtyn becoming buddies with Ryan Broyles and of course Sam visiting during half time, it almost made the loss bearable. After the game, we visited with a few friends and found ourselves making our way toward the cold exits…which was really a treat because it was an absolute sauna in the arena last night. I remember thinking…I am sick of being so hot!! Little did I know…I would soon be coveting that warmth in a big way!
Trudging out against the artic blast that met us at the doors…it was a relief to feel some coolness…but I was long over that feeling by the time I arrived at the vehicle…hopping up and down…waiting ever so patiently for Dave to unlock the doors. Of course everyone is jumping into their respective spots, anxiously awaiting the heater vents to kick in…when we all hear the words…”I don’t have the key!” Huh? What do you mean you don’t have the key?? I mean the key is not on the key ring… little side note - some keys have an inherent flaw in them that allows the top section of the key to split…it will still stay on the ring for all intents and purposes but there is still the chance that it can be pulled apart…and possibly come off the ring. You see, I know this because that is what happened to our “spare” key…and no…this was not mistyped…and no we had not replaced the spare key, even with me knowing this split was also evident in my “only” other key as well. You know that thing they call “hindsight”…well yeah…it yet again made a mockery of me last night!! …the road of good intentions…yadda yadda yadda…
“that is our only key!” complete silence
We told the girls to wait on us inside the vehicle and set out to go back into the arena. Of course the security guard called lost & found and no key had been turned in. “will you just let us look quickly?” It has to be quick because we have to clear the building. Thank you…and as I looked out at that arena…I said out loud to Mike…it truly is like trying to find a needle in a haystack! You see, we had been all over that arena and it just seemed like the most overwhelming feeling to think…there is no way we are going to find this key! I remember distinctively hearing Mike say I BELIEVE. Bless you Mike Keahbone, for you words will forever be remembered in my heart!
We looked in all the places we thought we’d been but with no luck…”call lost & found tomorrow, something might turn up” the security guard said as we headed back out into the parking lot.
We then began what would equal around an hour plus of searching the Lloyd Noble parking lot. Now for the good part…do you know all the warnings about how you should have warm clothing in your vehicle…well you guessed it…the majority of our group was no where near dressed appropriately as we just thought we would be running into and out of the building…you can handle the cold just to run in… People listen to me!!! Put these items into your vehicles right now…blankets, gloves, scarves, hats – whatever…just do it!!! What’s so stupid is that my kids always make fun of me because I am always making them bring extra stuff they don’t want but for whatever reason…my mind just wasn’t wrapped around the weather and the possibilities of what the night could hold.
With most of the group in sweatshirts and jeans…let me tell you, being outside that long in those temperatures is just not a good thing!! But we canvassed…all of our heads glued to the ground looking for a black/silver key in a parking lot full of small patches of black ice and grey asphalt.
I remember thinking the words of the song “I will praise you in this storm” over and over in my head…wanting so much for God to reveal to us His power because I had no doubt He was more than capable but at the same time trying to prepare myself for the fact that it was an impossible task to find this proverbial needle in that massive haystack! But maybe we all heard the whisper…BELIEVE…because we kept looking anyway. Toward the end of our journey…a Norman police officer pulled up in his big SUV and after explaining our dilemma, cleared his back seats off so we could at least warm up while he attempted to see if a lock smith could do anything for us and knowing Lindsey’s parents were heading out to rescue us. Worrying so much about the kids, it was such a relief to get them out of the cold and into his warm vehicle… Of course there was no getting Dave or Mike to stop and only by the “I am your mother and you will get into the vehicle” was I able to get Caleb with his now deep red/purple fingers to get inside to get warm. And as I climbed into that truck trying to figure out how I was going to get my husband to give up the search…I turn around and looked at those three precious teenagers…and seeing Caleb’s free white-out shirt tied around his head…I started to laugh because no matter what, God is always good to us and takes care of us…even when we are too stupid to be smart parents and replace keys and pack extra stuff for warmth in case something just might happen.
At about that same time, the words rang out…”did he find it?”…Followed by Caleb saying while looking past me in astonishment…“N.O. - W.A.Y.” Well friends as I turned my head around and looked out the front window to see my husband holding his hand straight up in the air with what appeared to be the key at the end of his fingertips…my laughter quickly turned into tears as I praised the God that would lead us to something as insubstantial as a key if for no other reason than to remind us that He is still there and still hears our cries! Some may say…you’re making too much out of it…you just got lucky. It is sorta funny that every one of the six of us had looked over the area time and time again, as it was probably 10 yards right in front of our vehicle. Lindsey even skated back and forth on the white line it was laying next to while talking to her parents on the phone and while looking down through the whole conversation but never seeing it because it blended so easily with the ground. I however choose to think God still moves among His people and also wants us to feel the comfort of knowing He is right beside us. When I hear those who say that God no longer performs the miracles so many wrote about in the Bible, I know differently! Because it might not seem a miracle to most…but to the six of us who went through the experience, it is forever imprinted on our spirit that there is incredible power when you BELIEVE!
