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The Great Heat Reaction

6/6/2016

2 Comments

 
PicturePhoto of me at the Sheraton in Palo Alto, waiting for Al to rescue me!
Saturday, the 3rd was a hot June day. My usual routine on Saturdays is to go to Brookdale, have breakfast with Gloria, and then lead a bible study with some wonderful residents. It causes some fatigue, but is so worth it! I got through around 11 and headed home. I threw some laundry in, and thought, I have time before I meet Terri Jones for lunch at Max’s in Redwood City, why don’t I go by the salon and say hi for a few minutes?
 
Great plan! So I loaded up my walker and closed the front door. Then I realized I had no keys. I was locked out of my car and condo. When I get overheated my brain function goes waaaay down. I thought, what can I do? Where can I go?
 
It seemed as if none of my neighbors were around, the place appeared deserted. I tried to get hold of someone, anyone, who might know the combination to the lock box that held a key just out of my reach. I sent a text to Carrie and Al, and neither knew the combination. Al had changed it, and must have made a mistake, because it remains unopened. I tried to remain calm, but it was not easy.
 
All the people I usually call were not available. Al was working an estate sale. Sometimes he gets home at 9p.m.  I thought, where can I go until 9 p.m. that has air conditioning? My wisdom was running on very low. Desperately I prayed "what should I do?" The word "Starwood" popped into my head. "Free rooms with air conditioning" popped in my head. "Call Terri, who is meeting you for lunch, she can drive you to the Westin or Sheraton" popped into my head. I was not thinking clearly until I cooled off, and this sounded like the safest thing for me to do.
 
Sweet Terri Jones rescued me. I called Starwood and got a room in Palo Alto at the Sheraton, and crashed there until Al scooped me up several hours later. It as a beautiful room, and it kept me out of the heat. I drank tea and I watched the Warriors AND the Sharks. It was my first time to watch an ice hockey game! What a commotion!! It made me dizzy to watch it and I was already exhausted, so this was no help! I called Jan who was out of town, Skyped with Debbie, and realized that it was 3 p.m., and my phone was going dead. So I rested until Al showed up.
 
The next day I was also exhausted and stayed home from church and rested. Debbie  had mentioned the day before that Jesus had shown up! Yes, He had. I am so grateful that I have options. It is not good for me to be overheated and alone. I can get very confused and lost. I am so grateful for Terri, who dropped everything to help me. I enjoy her friendship so much, and we caught up on all that has gone on in the last two years since we had seen each other.
 
I am in awe that in my confused state God could break in and tell me what to do. There was no audible voice, thoughts just ran through my mind. Even when I am in a deteriorated state, I can be still, and know He is God. I can listen. It is nothing I worked up, it is a gift from Him.
 
I am so grateful that God knows about the Sheraton, and He knows we are SPG members and get free rooms with points. That was definitely the best 12,000 points I ever spent!  The Great Heat Reaction is put away for now. I will stay indoors till it passes. And I will be grateful.

2 Comments
Debbie Sakraida
6/6/2016 04:15:46 pm

Great story to tell Barb miss you!!!

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Katie
6/6/2016 08:39:10 pm

Oh, Barb. Tough day, but gracious God. He never leaves us empty-handed.

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    Barb Berens
     is a woman 
    who is learning who she is day by day 
    with the help of her Heavenly Father.

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    It seems to fall into the category of Aleatoric Art. I just scribble &  it looks
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    ​Aleatoricart posted this description in September 2011 (this is an elevated view in my opinion):

    "Aleatoric Art is the ultimate collaboration between
    man and the elements. Happenstance, randomness
    and a twist
    of fate’s unwilling wrist go in halfseys
    with some of the most outstanding visionaries
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    to produce works of art that go far beyond those
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