Chasing Rabbits

You're probably thinking, "Great, 'chasing rabbits' is just another way to say I'm going to ramble on and on and on. I think I'll skip out on this post." And you're probably right. But, the story I'm about to tell did happen on Easter weekend, and it's just poetic irony that I'm could potentially define the meaning of "chasing rabbits" in this blog post. But please, read on! This is my most exciting post yet. And you never know, it could end up being short and sweet :) ...but probably not.

The day before Easter, Jason worked in our hometown. He travels with Casting Crowns doing their merchandise and they were playing at the local arena here in Birmingham. I was so excited because it was the first Saturday we've been in the same town since we've been engaged. I packed a bag full of snacks and different weighted cardigans and I headed up to the BJCC where the concert would be taking place that night.

I tried to strategically arrive when Jason was ending the set up process (Sidenote: If you are going to a concert in the future, please appreciate all of the crew members and band members that make it possible. They were 12-16 hour days to make the experience perfect for you and they usually don't get to have their families with them).  So I arrived around lunchtime and just kind of hung around until it was time to go eat.

Over the last year and a half, I've become pretty familiar with a lot of the guys Jason tours with. So as we walked around we said hi to people, we (but mainly I) got asked how the wedding planning was going, and I just had a nice time getting to see everyone Jason lives with out on the road.

After lunch, we returned to the arena and Jason took my purse to the crew dressing room so I didn't have to lug it around with me all day. While I was waiting for him, I was leaning up against a wall just kind of halfway paying attention to what was going on around me.

The security woman who works for the building was sitting there by the backstage/dressing room area entrance. She was very friendly and heard us talking about eating at Surin West (our favorite little Thai place downtown). We'd gone there for lunch, but I guess she assumed we were from out of town and we hadn't eaten yet. She offered me a BOGO coupon for Surin, which was so thoughtful. I told her that we actually live in Birmingham, and I had the same coupon that we were able to use for our lunch. She said that Jason looked familiar, then Jason came out of his dressing room, I said thank you for the coupon offer, and we went on our way. Little did I know, my interaction with her was just beginning.

Later that afternoon, Jason and I walked by the same security guard and there was another crew guy talking to her. Jason leaned over and whispered to me, "I bet he's sharing the gospel with her." I asked why he thought that and this is how he responded: "He shares the gospel with at least one person every day."

My response: "I need to be more like that guy."

His name was John Fry. He's an older-teenager who travels with the band and just loves sharing the gospel with people that he meets on the road. 

A little while later, Jason and I were going to go get coffee so I needed my purse. While I was waiting outside of the dressing room again, John Fry was still talking to the security guard. She seemed so engaged and was asking questions. I was trying not to creep on the conversation too much, but I really wanted to just stand there and listen. About a minute later, the security guard's relief came and she went on her break.

I stood there as John Fry walked around the corner and waiting for her to come back. I stood there and prayed that she would receive the truth that John Fry was telling her and the she would come to know Jesus as her Savior right then and there. I teared up and had to stop myself from crying. I could feel how powerful the Word of God is while I was just standing there.

Well, Jason came out of his dressing room and we walked back up to the merch booth.

A few hours passed and Jason got radioed to come down to the side of the stage during the show. So we walked down there and one of the other crew members asked if we could meet this woman who John Fry shared the gospel with. She had just become a believer! They wanted to introduce Jason and me to her officially since we're local and we're plugged in to a local church. Jason sent me up to get some CDs for her and a few minutes later we were introducing ourselves, talking about churches in the area, talking about concerts and her job, and finally, I gave her my phone number.

I told her that she better call me. She is single and she said that she just needs friends to do things with. I explained to her that I live here and my fiancé travels for work so I'm alone a lot too. I've been praying for her, and I hope so badly that she calls!

The next morning Jason and I met at my car to go to church. This was my first holiday away from home, and I was nervous about being lonely. Even though Jason and I would be together I was worried because I'm from a large family so holidays are big events for us. So, to ensure that Jason and I would not be lonely, and to serve our church, I volunteered us to help with the preschoolers during church.

Jason and I were ready for the three-year-old class that we were assigned to. We had the craft ready, our Spring colors on, and we had read over all of the material. When we arrived, there was one kid to every adult, so we got sent to the baby room.

Now, Jason is an only child. And even though I'm the oldest child and have younger siblings, they're in high school. I've done some baby sitting here and there over the years, but not very recently. I'm sure that when we walked in the door to the baby room, our two sets of eyes looked like big brown golf balls.

I'm pretty sure Jason has never held a baby before. As soon as we walked in, they made Jason a "walker". That meant that he walked a stroller with two babies in it around the lobby area so that they wouldn't cry. Jason gladly accepted so that he had a job to do, but that also meant that if anything went wrong, he was all alone.

I stayed behind to help the other volunteers. I offered to make a bottle for one of the babies, but I made it wrong. It seemed like every time I held a baby, they cried. It didn't take long before I became a walker too (now that I think about it, they made me a walker after I told them Jason and I are engaged and we do not have kids).

All in all, being with the babies was a great experience. We got to serve our church. We got to play with babies. And we realized that we definitely want to wait a little while before we have our own babies.

We ended our independent Easter by attended the evening service at church. How incredible it was to worship our Savoir after such an eventful weekend!

Although we didn't partake in any of the usual Easter "festivities", I truly believe that our weekend was better for it. We were able to serve the Lord this holiday weekend and focus on His Son and what He did for us on the cross.

So,  no we did not end up chasing rabbits this weekend, but we do know that at least one person is no longer running.