Parade passes by………………

10/20/09 Lyrics with Barbra Streisand singing wafted out of the 5th floor dorm room in ‘67 and the 4th floor dorm room in ’68 when Molly got married and Winslow became my roommate. Whether “Don’t Rain on My Parade” from Funny Girl or “Before the Parade Passes By” from Hello Dolly, I would be singing along---using that verb very loosely because during All-Sing I would be relegated to the back row with Pat and Gina and we mouthed the words. Sort of a silent karaoke.

I love parades---there part of growing up in a small town---from the football homecoming parades and snake dances on Friday nights to the annual Christmas parade, it was always fun. Except once.
In 4th grade I was chosen to ride on the float for Morningside Elementary. My mother was thrilled and got right in to getting my red ice skater’s outfit trimmed and even to stuffing all those white Kleenix into the chicken wire for the “snow” effect covering the car that pulled the flat bed trailer. The pond I was to skate on took many boxes of Reynold’s wrap as I recall. (I don’t think they offered store brands back then.)

There were just problems in that parade---unseen to others but I felt them---on the first turn. During practice times, I stood on the “pond” but had trouble holding my balance for very long. The day of the parade, someone had a brilliant idea to nail/wedge my skates (with me in them) to the floor of the trailer. Scary, huh!
Mother who walked the entire route with me realized the fallacy of this as my legs went one way and the skates another. She climbed up and came to my rescue---freeing me from the skates and draping them over my shoulder, just the right effect. Of course, my feet froze the rest of the way but it sure beat breaking my legs.

Parades of problems come through our lives every day. Mine tend to be worse at night. Problems from the day “float” through my mind or even worse the “what if?" "floats” of the morrow can get me tossing. It’s as if they keep me nailed to the bed when what I really want is to be free of them so that I can sleep. Remembering Mother being there for me and freeing me from from the BIG problem on that float is a great visual for me. She saw and understood when no one else did. Why? Because I was her child and she cared about me and was always watching out for my best interest. God cares for me even more than that so I need to give that parade of problems that “floats” through my mind, especially at night, to Him.

Who are you going to turn to during those times. We should follow Hezekiah’s formula. As soon as a problem came his way, he went and placed it before the Lord. “Then Hezekiah prayed before the Lord.” (2Kings 19:14-15) If we turn to Him first, we can enjoy the parades that come our way knowing that we have cast our cares upon Him who cares for us. We won’t allow a cloud of problems to rain on our parade.