Father of the "College Girl"

 "Father of the Bride" with Steve Martin is my absolute favorite movie of all time.  I can watch it over and over and laugh uproariously every time.  Yesterday, a moment occurred in our family which could have come straight from the script.

Madeline was planning to drive home from the University of Texas in Austin this past weekend for the first time.  She wanted to see some of her friends in a play at Martin High School.  She has a class at 3:00 P.M. on Friday, and Susan and Rob didn't want her driving home after she finished the class because of the horrid traffic late on Friday (or any) afternoon.  She was going to have to wait and come home Saturday morning.  Her parents were so concerned about her making the drive since it was her first trip by herself.

So...then there came the bomb threat.  They were not quite as worried about her driving then!  It was "Get on the road as quick as you can!"  Of course, she made it beautifully.

The Metzgers were so kind to invite Shirley and me to lunch at Mac's Bar & Grill yesterday (Sunday), so the grandmothers would get to see our college freshman!  We had a great time listening to tales of rush and friends and classes, etc.  We grandmothers eat that kind of thing up.

At one point Madeline excused herself and went to change into shorts and a sweatshirt for the drive.  (She looked so cute!)  She was leaving straight from Mac's to head back to Austin--again for the first time alone.  Of course, you will probably remember that it was raining.  So Madeline starts hugging everyone goodbye, then Rob and Susan start in cautioning her (again) and giving her last minute directions. The only problem was, one was telling her to be sure to be in the right lane at some point,and the other the left.  Along with Susannah's and my exchange of a slight "rolling of the eyes," it certainly became a "Father of the Bride College Girl" moment.

As in the movie, a poignant moment followed the funny one.  Susan's and Rob's faces as they watched her drive away were haunting. 

Later I received a text:  "She's safely back in Hardin House."  And mine back, "Praise the Lord!"

Maybe I Was Wrong...

about something I said in the first paragraph here.  I said the political conventions were not as fun as they used to be.  Watching Villairgosa bumble, stumble, and fumble with an absurd voice vote on whether or not God should remain excluded from the Democratic platform was pretty funny.  I have actually never seen anything like it in my whole long life.

I was reminded of a verse from the Bible which I felt applied to this situation.  I knew it related to God taking what man meant for bad and using it for His good.  I absolutely LOVE Google, because it can help find just about anything.  The verse is Genesis 50:20, and it states, "As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good."  (It regarded Joseph and the horrible acts his brothers had perpetrated on him, which turned out for good--for the brothers, for Joseph, and for God.)

A political party might be able to remove God from its platform, even though by "2/3 voice vote" it didn't work this time, but how would you feel about aligning yourself with a party which chose to do that?  Do they not realize that God is in control of EVERYTHING?  The next breath we take, the spinning of the earth on its axis exactly the right distance from the sun, resulting in the maintenance of a temperature which our bodies can handle, etc., etc., etc.  What a joke that man could exclude God from anything!

And then the people booed.  They booed God.  That happened in the Bible too. 

"Please open the eyes of people's hearts, God, and allow them to see a clear picture of your power and to recognize your truth and love.  As always, may your will be done on earth as it is in heaven."