Pilikia Strikes Again

In case you’ve been wondering if Pilikia has outgrown his adorable little nickname (a fancy word for trouble), allow me to quote that well-known philosopher and deep thinker, Jerry Seinfeld. “Having a two-year-old is like having a blender without a lid.” Little Mr. Trenton is nothing less than a twenty-five-pound tornado! Here are a few things he accomplished last weekend while the rest of us were cleaning for an open house and working on Christmas and Thanksgiving gift baskets. He learned to unlock the sliding glass door, thus making it necessary to monitor him any time he’s remotely close to downstairs to keep him and the dog from escaping. He has spent a considerable amount of time disrobing, making messes of all kinds, and blaming them on the dog. He can point his finger and scold like nobody’s business – even if it’s entirely unjustified! He discovered that if you climb up on the storage tote of the next season’s shoes in the laundry room, you can climb onto the washer, where you can get to the container of Tide pods, pry the lid off said container by force, fill the remainder of the mostly empty container with grapes, which will get the pods wet, and then distribute them to various places around the house, including the new leather couch in the living room that’s not even paid off yet, and further discover that the color-safe bleach within said pods is not leather-couch safe bleach. He further discovered that having a houseful of distracted adults also doubles as the perfect opportunity to sneak cookies, juice boxes, and cider as often as he wanted, so long as he strategized who he asked to give it to him so no one caught on fast enough to put a stop to it. His upset tummy later told on him, but by then he’d had his fun and no one could do anything about it! It’s safe to say that among the other things I pray on a daily basis, “Lord Jesus, please make this child take a nap!” is near the top. Between his climbing, escaping, rearranging, “helping in the kitchen,” sorting, pouring, demanding, exploring, bossing, plotting, dumping things out, and throwing things out, Little Mister keeps us on our toes! (It’s a good thing he’s cute!!!) And now I look at his tantrums, his messes, and his stubbornness as training for what’s coming behind him – a little sister, who may be about this age by the time we get her, who won’t know English and will be equally strong-willed and inquisitive, but with less words to communicate her desires to us. This is going to be an adventure for sure!!! As you know by now, if you’ve followed my blog for long, I inevitably learn a spiritual lesson at every stopping point in this journey. What I’m learning right now is to expect the unexpected, and to give up on trying to figure things out because the grand design is bigger than me and I truly don’t know what’s coming next! The verse that keeps coming to mind, really half a verse, is ““I know the plans I have for you.” Sayeth the Lord.” (Jeremiah 29:11) God has this whole thing figured out and He’s letting me in on it little by little, and right now, I’m having a lot of fun just letting the doors open and the blessings come. The neighbor girl around the corner from us has really taken our cause to heart. She has orchestrated a couple of mini fundraisers, selling Kool-Aid, water, wrist bands, and candy bars on our behalf. She’ll ring the doorbell and give me or the boys $3.00 or $6.00, say she’s been raising money for us, and then scamper off without another word. This always leaves me speechless and misty-eyed. I text her mom later when I can think of appropriate thank you note words, and I am simply overcome with gratitude to that sweet little one who cares about another little girl somewhere far away from here enough to do something about it! The kids in the neighborhood have also become keenly aware that our house is the candy bar house. We’ve had more than one of them ring our doorbell, cash in hand, wanting their sugar fix. This is entirely due to the efforts of Tyler and Trevor who have championed the candy bar cause to many houses around the neighborhood, to their teachers at school, to cafeteria ladies, even to the crossing guards! My subdivision knows that another Shelton is coming! Jewelry has been another spectacular fundraiser! I mentioned Compelled Designs in my last blog post. They’re a company I was referred to who makes hand-made pottery jewelry to help fundraise for ministries, mission trips, and adoptions. Their pieces are unique and beautiful, and each one has a scripture reference inscribed on the back. The pieces are beautiful! They sell themselves! My mom wore her necklace to work, and to date, has sold fourteen other pieces because people asked to see what we had based on seeing her piece. These are not people I know, and not all of them share our faith, but they’re joining in with our cause and we are immensely grateful! The antiques and rugs that were taking up space in our garage for so long are gone! I mentioned in choir practice a couple of weeks ago that we had them and I couldn’t find a way to get rid of them, and got a call the next day from someone who knew someone and made a call on our behalf. An on-line auction house agreed to take them on for us, cut their commission down by more than half, waived storage and posting fees, and is now advertising them to their 16,000 registered bidder network! They asked if they could include our cause in the item descriptions, and have been more than kind in handling all of it! I have no idea what we’ll glean from the sale, I am just again overcome with gratitude that they cared enough to try, and we’ll rejoice in whatever amount comes our way! (After I wrote the first draft of this, the auction house agreed to take another piece of furniture that we were offered last night. I don’t even know where it came from, but the donation included an offer to deliver it to the auction house, and a phone call to the auction house confirmed that they would take it, so my heart is leaping with joy!) And that’s how fundraising seems to be rolling for us. Things I didn’t think would sell are suddenly selling (like the bird cage in my garage), and we’ve encountered blessing after blessing as people who live on budgets, just like us, have found ways to help. Even last night another phone call came, another offer of a big piece of furniture, from I know not where, along with an offer to deliver it to said auction house. Our next big event is November 3! That evening will be “Spaghetti Supper with the Sheltons.” We’re praying to pack the activities center in our church full of spaghetti lovers for an evening of tasty food, a little music and sharing from me, and shopping! We have jewelry! We have gift baskets! We have centerpieces! We have books and ornaments and Christmas cards! It’s safe to say, one could knock out a lot of their Christmas list on Orphan Sunday just by attending our event! Please, please come and join us! We have a lot to share and we’re very excited!!! There are several other things we’re still working on quietly behind the scenes. We continue to look for ways to expand our circles so that we don’t continue to pester the same people over and over and over again. This is where God is stretching me. I am learning to plan with an open mind and a heart that is ready to be flexible and change. Some of what we thought would work didn’t. Some of the people who have stepped up weren’t people who were anywhere near my radar. God has provided a number of resources, and He’ll show us how to maximize them if we faithfully wait and listen for his plan. I am, for the moment, not overwhelmed by the enormity of the numbers, but instead overwhelmed by God’s grace and the prompting of the Spirit who goes before us, making a way for us. “Praise God from whom all blessings flow!” “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight.” (Proverbs 3:5-6) “Give thanks to the Lord! His love endures forever!”