When Our Agenda Gets Shattered

So what do we do when our agenda gets shattered? Does it blow you out of the water with discombulated feelings of resentment?

I have developed a habit of making a short list of things that I hope to get done that day at the beginning when I'm still in my prayer time. I usually tell the Lord, that He has the right to edit or interrupt that agenda if He has better ideas. I don't spend time writing it in stone. Instead, I jot it down in my devotional journal and then at the end, copy and paste it in my business journal so it will be handy if I forget what else I was going to get accomplished - if possible.

As I pointed out last week, sometimes someone drops in unexpectedly and some of the items have to be dropped or shoved aside. It happened again yesterday when my cousin Gary showed up after lunch. He complained of a cold but wanted to be doing something and I'd mentioned the other time when he was here that if he was unemployed this winter I had some handyman jobs for him around here.

Gary pulled his laptop out of his briefcase and asked if I could do something about. Meantime, he could clean my furnace ducts and some other projects if I was ready for them.

Well... I had planned... but I decided that this must be an interruption of the Lord's doing, so adjusted my attitude and asked what he needed on the laptop. Well, he thought the battery might be dead, and the cord with the charger unit on it got really hot to the touch.

I soon agreed. The screen went black every few minutes meaning I had to boot up again. Hooking up the charger helped, but Gary was afraid that using it would fry everything on the computer.

I'd installed a Windows 10 on it about 2 years ago. He said he hadn't even opened the laptop in many months, so he would not mind if I installed a linux system on it. Ah, that sounded more like my kind of solution! But somehow I'd touched the update button or icon and each time I rebooted the computer continued installing updates. I couldn't stop

it.

So I stopped to get out the Rainbow vacuum cleaner of Tom's that I've had fixed and showed Gary how to assemble it for use. I'd thought there were very tight screws in the wrought-iron grates over the duct openings, but he soon showed me that those holes were empty. But the grates were hard to pull away from the walls. So once he knew what he was doing there, I went back to the laptop. More waiting time.

Well, I'd been researching new linux distributions to try on Sat. night, so I went to see if I could download one, burn it to a DVD disc and then install it for Gary. That took all kinds of time. So I got out my big black disk wallet and got out one rather small system that has worked for me in the past. But it didn't want to install. (Partly, I think because the laptop kept passing out from lack of power).

Meantime, Gary went out to clear my back deck/steps and also the garden path. (Good! It had been on my agenda to do that before supper). When he was looking for another favour to do for me, I remembered that the hinge of one of the doors of my bedroom cabinet had come loose and was blocking the next door from opening. He got down on his knees and fixed that too.

Gary has been staying with his Mom in the winter months instead of his camper, which is his summer home. When he told me that both of them have cold/flu symptoms and neither has had any vaccines, I decided that it would be best if I gave them the Rapid test kit I'd got for myself the other week. I had used one test, but there were 3 more in the box. (I admit that I was getting a little nervous that I might get it from Gary, if they both had COVID and didn't know it). I know where I can pick up a new kit for free.

By the time Gary left, saying I could take my time with the laptop, it was just about supper time. I took time to pray and ask the Lord to free me of the little irriation-thoughts that were buzzing around me like flies, and to rejoice instead for Gary's willingness to do a number of helpful errands for me in return for working on the laptop.

After supper I spent another hour or two on the laptop, first checking online whether there is real danger if a charger gets hot. (As long as you can touch it, it's okay). I tried a new system that I was curious to see in action. No go. So I tried a disc with the same LEAP system as I have on my desktop. It got hung up on the step where I was to provide the download link for a net install. So I gave up on that, and downloaded the newest version that I'm hoping to install on my desk top soon. But I chose to download the one that would install strictly from the DVD.

Then I saw it was after 8 and I felt that I really needed to get to work on my shopping cart problem so I've put that installation off until later today on Gary's laptop.

This morning I have a new agenda and it includes time for this unplanned project, and I have a calm and relaxed spirit about it.

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