Of Hobby Lobby and Umbrellas

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In April I told you about the visit Ray and I made to the Missouri state capitol in Jefferson City on a rainy, rainy day. We had to park pretty far away and were caught without an umbrella.

That afternoon Ray and I were scheduled to meet with homeschoolers at a Mardel store in Kansas City. Many of you who live in Arkansas, Colorado, Kansas, Louisiana, Missouri, Oklahoma, and Texas are familiar with Mardel. They are part of the Hobby Lobby family of companies and were founded by Mart Green, son of Hobby Lobby founder Steve Green.

Not wanting to look like a curly-headed mop top (which is how I look when I’ve been in the rain or humidity), I waited in the van while Ray found a store that sold umbrellas. He called so we could put our heads together before buying it since the price tag was $25, which to us seemed pretty steep for an umbrella. Our choices were to show up at Mardel after walking two blocks in the rain (both going and coming) or to pay $25 for an umbrella. We bought the umbrella. My favorite feature was its width. We had to put our heads together to decide to buy it, but not to use it. It served us well for exactly 88 days.

During the last few minutes of the Lancaster parade this past Sunday, we had a brief shower. When Ray and I got the umbrella over Mother and her lawn chair, we found that one of the spokes was hanging down. I thought about how I might fix it.

The next morning Ray and I left home early to go see Bethany and her family for Bethany’s birthday. On our way we stopped at a Hobby Lobby I had not been to before. As I looked for what I needed, I kept thinking about the fact that this was the day the Supreme Court was to hand down its decision about whether Hobby Lobby and other similar businesses would have to pay for birth control measures that they oppose because of their beliefs. I must confess that I was not hopeful. As I walked around, I prayed for Hobby Lobby to win the case.

Ray was getting gas while I did my Hobby Lobby errand. He soon came in looking for me. He had just heard the news that Hobby Lobby had won! I was overjoyed. I got to be the first to share the good news with a couple of Hobby Lobby employees! I was so excited.

We finished our errands and headed toward the door. Ray had sweetly brought in the umbrella because the drizzle that was falling when I went into the store had turned into a shower. As I opened the umbrella, two spokes went through the top. Then the whole umbrella did that thing umbrellas do sometimes–the whole thing turned inside out.

Seeing a nearby trash can, I began trying to fold my now 4 1/2-foot-long, inside-out umbrella in half to stuff it in. Then I thought how fun it would be to show Bethany our broken umbrella. I just held it over my head, spreading the inside-out spokes out to cover my hair a little. Ray always has his Tilley, so he walked along beside me just fine. We met a man coming toward the door, so I asked, “Do you like my umbrella?” You know, sort of like the woman in Dr. Seuss’ Go, Dog, Go, who says, “Do you like my hat?”again and again.

Bethany took my picture with my umbrella, so I could show you. Do you like my umbrella?

So . . . you see, it was a Hobby Lobby thing. Because we were going to Mardel (a Hobby Lobby company), we bought an umbrella. And, when we were leaving Hobby Lobby in the rain, my umbrella went topsy turvy. Now, do you think I will ever forget the day God answered millions of prayers and the Supreme Court said, “Yes,” to Hobby Lobby?

Then the Lord appeared to Solomon at night and said to him,
“I have heard your prayer
and have chosen this place for Myself as a house of sacrifice.
If I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain,
or if I command the locust to devour the land,
or if I send pestilence among My people,
and My people who are called by My name humble themselves
and pray and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways,
then I will hear from heaven,
will forgive their sin and will heal their land.
2 Chronicles 7:12-14

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