It was one of those days I knew no matter how early I got up, I’d still be sliding in to home plate just in time to turn around to be somewhere at 6:00pm. I was leaving town the next day, so I really needed to conquer the list. I got in the car and took a deep breath. Game on!

I literally had mapped out a route so the first half of the day ran like a well oiled machine. At 3:00 I decided I had time to squeeze in a much needed pedicure. Five pounds from winter hibernation and pasty white skin are a depressing combo. A pedicure is always a good fix for an ugly day.

There were some flip flops in the car I put on when I left the salon. It was cold, but worth it to not smudge the polish. The question to myself was, “Can I wear winter clothes and flip flops to Walmart?” It was the last stop on my list.

I had only four items in my basket and had already seen three women wearing flannel pajama bottoms when I rounded the corner to the garbage bag aisle. There stood an elderly woman with a polyester-material wedgie so bad, it was shocking. Goodness, her husband was with her. Surely he noticed it. Well, maybe not.

So, I felt pretty good in my flip flops. As I headed to the checkout line, I saw another pair of flip flops. As I looked up there were also shorts and a sleeveless muscle shirt and a 40ish year old man. He grinned and winked at me as he walked by. It must have been my “I’m Not Really A Waitress” red toenail polish.

The sun was going down and the temperature was dropping when I dashed out to the car. I was so proud of myself for marking everything off the list with a pedicure thrown in. When I got to the car my spirits sank like a three-day-old helium balloon. The keys had evidently fallen out of my purse. There they were on the driver’s seat in the locked car. So much for working the plan.

I called Jim to bring the extra key. There I waited in my flip flops and winter coat in the 40 degree parking lot. My prayer was that the guy who liked my red toenail polish was not parked nearby.

Jim was trying to make a deadline too. He drove in to town, down the row where I was parked, pushed the open button from his car, smiled and kept driving. I know what he probably wanted to say, but graciously didn’t. We were only 20 minutes late for our 6 o’clock dinner.

It’s best not to get too proud of your accomplishments. God has a huge sense of humor. And, yes, it’s OK to wear flip flops and winter clothes to Walmart.

“ ... God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.”
James 4:6