day 172: disaster averted

I think sometimes I underestimate God's attention to the details.

Especially the ones in my life.

Today I knew Aaron was going to try and call.

The "try" meant he would indeed call, but the questionable part came to my cell reception.

Being out in the middle of the woods, who knew what I'd be able to pick up.

And I knew he'd probably call around the same time as a "normal" Saturday.

So that phone was by my side the entire morning.

And the "normal" time found us at the pool.

Just long enough for me to get the 3 girls in the pool, towels and snacks waiting for our first break out of the water, and then I realized it: I had put my phone down. 10 minutes at most. And when I grabbed it out of the bag, I knew what I'd see. 2 missed calls and 1 voicemail.

Drat.

The only time the whole morning that the phone wasn't in my hand and I missed him. Just my luck. The voicemail said he was sorry, but he tried twice, and he guessed I just had bad reception.

I frantically texted him, knowing full well that his iTouch and the phone where he can call me are separated by a good walking distance, and that even if he'd go back and see my text, the chances of him walking back yet again to call yet again were slim to none. I irreverently hit the "send" button anyways.

But just then, my phone vibrated. Unbelieving, I clicked "answer" and heard, "Well, you're in luck. I don't know why I thought to try you a third time, but I did."

Relief. He had saved me from a bad day.

And yes, I was that mom in the pool talking on her iPhone. My kids were well-supervised, thanks to my friends who shared watching our 7 kids between the 4 of them. Me, on my phone, way less tattooed with way more teeth than most of the others in the pool, I stuck out like a shiny red car in the parking lot at an Old Order Mennonite church. But I did not care. He called, and I was good.