lAURA LOVEBERRY -
Gone A Muck!
By Laura Loveberry Everything Men Magazine Inspirational Speaker and Author and Author
The big day finally arrives. I am honored to represent the State as Mrs. Michigan 2007, and will be meeting the governor with my family at the state capital. Our 9-yearold special-needs daughter Madison is swinging her feet back and forth in her chair and content to be playing her promised two electronic games as we wait our meeting. We practiced over and over our handshake, good eyecontact manners, and “Pleased to meet you, Governor” for weeks and weeks with Madison prior to this moment. Since Madison is known to have struggles and overreactions to new situations, we are so pleased she is contained and not hyper-actively running around the grand hall ways knocking over precious historical statues. All is good…so far. “Next!” the uniformed guard bellows out. It is our turn. I shoot a quick prayer this goes well, grab up our belongings, and turn on my camera. OH NO! The camera battery dies. Quickly I snatch the other electronic toy Madison is not using and start taking out the batteries for the camera because we need to walk in right now, and my director requires photos of all events. Did I mention Madison does not adjust to change of plans well? Yea, well, suddenly Madison insists in a loud echoingdown-the-corridor voice. “Mommmm, you said I could bring these 2 toys!” Madison starts to get into the meltdownzone phase. I attempt to sooth her growing irrationalness with logic while I frantically switch out the batteries, hand my husband the now battery-powered camera, and we scurry into the prestigious office with our family. The governor greets and shakes hands with me as I introduce my husband Mark, my son Markus, and then I get to my daughter, who by this time is totally unreasonable because she does not have the promised electronic toy. Our weeks of practice greeting are worthless. I say this is my daughter Madison. Madison stomps her feet, sticks out her bottom lip, and turns her back to the highest official in the state. I start to sweat profusely, as she is standing with her back defiantly turned away. My husband grimaces and firmly whispers out of the side of his mouth, “Madison, say HELLO to the governor, NOW.”
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Keeping her feet planted and back defiantly turned, Madison swiftly cocks her head around, frowns her face, and snorts out with much sassiness, “ Hi Gov.” She proceeds to dramatically whip her head back around to the I–am-sonot-wanting-to-cooperate position with arms crossed and back rebelliously remaining to us. “NOOOOOO!” my mind is clouded inside realizing, “our daughter did not just royally and with much overdo, totally dish the esteemed position of governor in the historic oval office?!!.” I bead up with sweat as the cameras flash. This is not quite how I envisioned our oh-so-sophisticated Mrs. Michigan monumental moment. It has been 7 years since this fiasco in the capital. Now, with Madison’s autism diagnosis, we have insight into this slightly hysterical historical highlight of my queen experience. Have your best-made plans ever gone a muck? When I read my favorite book, the BIBLE, I learn how ordinary people like you and I, experience unexpected setbacks in their human plans, but God works extraordinarily in his divine plans. Jonah plans a side trip and spends a horrid reeking dark few days in the slimy stomach of a whale, and is spewed back out to obey God and learn obedience. Joseph plans to live a dream and is wrongly abruptly sold to slavery, falsely accused of rape, unjustly imprisoned, and then God lifts him to the 2nd most powerful man in the land to save his family alive. Daniel plans to keep praying to God, but is thrown into a den of ravenous lions for doing so, and God miraculously delivers Daniel unscathed from his unexpected life event to bring God glory! Our human plans often detour, but God can turn our alternative routes into a laugh-about-it-later illustration story, reason-to-obey-God memory, training-youfor-leadership-life experience, and give-glory-to-God opportunity! God is good all the time…even in our unforeseen, unanticipated, and often unpredictable life. Find God’s purpose in the muck. It’s better than staying stuck.