Have you ever had a bad week? Just a week where nothing seemed to fall in your favor?
This week was one of those weeks for me. It was as if a giant black cat walked in front of me, and sknocked over a giant container of salt.
The story begins in 2013, but the events in 2013 consequently caused events in 2014.
It began last week when I
(1.) Spilled water on my Macbook.
It wasn't alot of water either, but enough to completely shut down my computer to the point where it would not restart. This was extremely unfortunate because I was fixing to leave on a week long trip with the Winthrop basketball team to Dayton, Ohio. I would be traveling to Dayton, Ohio computerless.
I had planned to leave for Rock Hill the morning of the 29th (the day we left), but received a call saying
(2.) I needed to come up the night before because of a possible change in plans.
I packed in a little under an hour and needless to say was feeling a little stressed out. My mom was nice enough to offer me her computer for the trip because mine was unusable.
My friend Kevin was nice enough to let me stay in his apartment for the night. After unloading my things from my car, I locked it and went inside to watch Netflix.
I should preface the next few things by noting that I have a tendency to be forgetful. I watched Netflix for an hour and a half without realizing
(3.) I left my suitcase sitting outside by my car.
Somehow in the process of locking the doors of my car I forgot I had a suitcase and just walked inside forgetting I ever left it there. I should have taken this was a bad omen for the week. Fortunately it was still by my car and nobody had taken it.
The next morning we practiced before driving to Hampton Virginia (a 6 hour bus ride) for our game the ensuing day. If you've never heard anything about basketball road trips, it is to expect the unxpected, especially as a student manager. Always be alert and ready to improvise. I can honestly say
(4.) I'm not sure we stuck to a single original plan on this trip.
The Winthrop basketball managerial staff redefined working on the fly this past week.
(5) The next day Winthrop lost to Hampton in a double overtime nailbiter.
Unhappy game results make for unhappy bus rides. Another 6 hours to Charleston West Virginia was ahead.
About 4 hours into our 6 hour trip to Charleston we stopped at McDonalds in the middle of nowhere to stretch our legs and grab a snack. I took my backpack into McDonalds to change from my polo and khais into a t-shirt and sweatpants.
After I changed I grabbed a snack and headed back to the bus.
(6.) 5 minutes after we had left the McDonalds I came to the traumatizing realization that I had left my backpack at McDonalds. My backpack containing my mom's computer, my new Bible, some gift cards and my car keys.
Well turning around to get it was not an option, because as a team we had places to be and had to be punctual. So I called the McDonalds and they had found it and locked it away in an office.
The next day was New Year's Eve and I was spending it in the great city of Dayton, Ohio. Most of my New Year's Eve was spent alone in my hotel room watching Johny Football take over the Chickfila Bowl. It wasn't as bad as it could've been.
(7) Winthrop played Dayton the next day in the first basketball game of 2014. A rough performance against a very talented Dayton team led to a 34 point loss and once again, an unhappy 8 hour bus ride back to Rock Hill.
(8.) In one week I spent about 22 hours on that bus. Think about that.
This is where the story gets all the more interesting.
(9.) I mentioned that I left my keys in my backpack, but didn't realize it until halfway through the bus ride home. I had planned to drive home at about 1:30 am and leave early the next mroning with some friends for the Orange Bowl.
I called my parents who at this point had found out about the backpack, and they found a spare key and decided they would drive 2 hours up to Rock Hill drop off the spare and drive home.
(10.) Problem was, when they got there, the key didn't start my car, it only unlocked it.
(11.) So my parents waited in Charlotte/Rock Hill until we got back at 2am to drive me home.
I'm not sure I have ever loved my parents more.
We got home at about 4am and went right to sleep.
The next morning came early, 7:30 to be exact. I had an hour to pack everything for Miami and be ready to go. Somehow going off
(12.) 3 hours of sleep
I succeeded in doing so and at 8:30 it was onward to Miami.
(13). 4 hours into our trip we hit some traffic and ended up rear ending some other friends we were following down to Miami. Their car was fine and no one was injured, but my friend's car was totaled.
After about an hour the technical details of the wreck had been taken care of, but I would no longer be going to the game. After 4 hours of waiting in the run down town of Hardeeville, Georgia, my friend's parents arrived and drove us 4 hours back home to Easley.
What. A. Day.
In the end my backpack was shipped back to my house, my computer is fixable, I got to watch the Orange Bowl with friends and family and more importantly I haven't been injured.
At some point in the middle of all of these misfortunes I picked up my Bible and turned to the beginning of Matthew and read the story of the birth of Jesus. Everyone remembers the wisemen bringing the gifts to the manger, but what often goes untold is the story of Herod's plot to kill Jesus.
Herod sent his wisemen to review the situation and God warned them in a dream not to return to Herod. Then an angel of the Lord came to Joseph in a dream and told him to flee to Egypt until he deemed it safe to return. Herod then proceeded to kill all male children in Bethlehem under the age of two, which if you think about it is worse than any tragedy that has occurred in my lifetime.
What I took out of this is that God had an elaborate plan to keep his Son safe, because he loved him and He has that same exact love for me. When I lost the backpack I was still on a trip doing something I enjoy doing. Sure I misplaced some valuable items, but my situation was nothing compared to the story in Matthew. For some reason, I was not intended to go to the Orange Bowl this year, and thats okay. I know that God still loves me and has a great plan for me just like he had for Jesus.
It is good to remind myself that he is watching over me in times such as these.
I can always think about what had happened if I hadn't spilled water on my Macbook or if I hadn't been in a wreck, but it made me rely on God and look to him.
It's been an extremely long, stressful week.
Bu I have is parents who love me, and a God who loves me even more.
