“And It Came to Pass”

Nice little seasonal reference here to the book of Luke in the Christian New Testament, chapter 2, from the lovely old King James Version: “And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be taxed.” Mary and Joseph set out for Bethlehem because of this decree.

But my main point in this post has to do with the passage of time itself, and how, as I’ve said before, life moves along without your having to make it do so, whether you want events to be over or you want time to stand still. (Someone asked an old preacher once what his favorite verse in the Bible was, and he said, “And it came to pass.” Huh? He explained, “It never says, ‘And it came to stay.’”)

So, as I rushed around Wednesday, Thursday and Friday of last week, getting everything ready for the big concert and reception Friday night, I tried to remind myself frequently that I didn’t want to want it all to be over. I did say to Gideon, “I’m looking forward to singing in the concert, but then I do wish it would be the middle of the reception when I can see that everything is going okay and the pink eggnog is getting served and everyone’s eating and enjoying themselves.” But no. Every moment had to be lived through, including the one where I realized that I had missed the turn for Party City for the third time, and it was almost 5:00 PM on concert day, and the traffic was terrible, and so there was no time left for me to go back. I was going to have to figure out something else. So I drove along, thinking furiously, and decided that I could probably use some napkins from the church’s supplies and pay them, which I did. They were pretty plain, not the nice bright red ones I had planned, but you know what? They were just fine.  (Note to brides who are planning a wedding: People don’t really notice very much what they wipe their mouths with! In fact, if I’m ever a wedding planner, which you can see from the foregoing is not very likely, I will advise spending the money on food, flowers, and music, and not on anything made of paper.)

​And then, as always happens, people appeared out of nowhere to help me out. A nice woman who had gotten there way too early for her ushering responsibilities and our wonderful productions manager showed up and helped get the setup finished. One of these days that ain’t gonna happen, but so far so good.

Ironically, I often say in the midst of planning a food event that I wish it were possible just to take a pill instead of eating. There have been quite a few Chick-fil-A sandwiches scarfed down in the car as I’ve raced across town, with accompanying mayonnaise smears on the steering wheel. That is no way to prepare for a performance. (No offense to CFA, it goes without saying.) At least on Friday before my ill-fated expedition to buy more totally unnecessary eggnog and get those blasted napkins I ate some nice leftover salmon and broccoli.

Well, now it’s Monday, and it’s all over. I did better this time about the whole beforehand preparation thing. I did better about trying to enjoy the process. The concert was totally fabulous, and the reception was a total and complete and utter zoo, in a totally fabulous way. I think every single person in the audience came to the reception. And they stayed and stayed, and talked and talked, and ate and ate. There were hardly any leftovers, and we came out pretty well on the eggnog punch. All in all, a great time. For once I don’t have a total meltdown to feel bad about. On to the next event!