The Paper Shuffle

I woke up with crazy hair. I looked at myself in the mirror and did a double take at the multitudes of spikes sticking out at every crazy angle. My hair was usually unruly when I awoke, but today, it was unusually unruly. Forty something years old, and my hair is still  as wild as the day I was born.
I sighed at my reflection, dismissed my springy hairstyle and turned to face a glorious day. It was going to be a hot one, maybe even 100 degrees,  I went outside and sat in my little garden in the back of the yard, behind the garage. In the morning shade I closed my eyes and listened to creation worship the Master. Bees were buzzing. My dogs were barking. I heard an owl hooting softly somewhere across the street. The wind was blowing slightly, clouds taking the edge off of the morning heat. I sat and talked to the Lord for a bit, until the sun began to creep across my knees as the shadows moved and changed. I felt at peace.
Calling the dogs, I decided it was time to go inside and take care of some pending business. I leashed them up and we made our way to the house. Up in the bedroom, the dogs retired for their mid morning naps. I was drinking the Mr's coffee because he was still asleep (Hey why let it get cold?) when the phone rang. He hopped up out of bed and grabbed the call. It was the insurance adjuster, and they had information about our car. The car was a total loss, as we already knew, and they would be sending us some money, but first they needed the title. He looked at me over his desk. The title? "Oh yeah, I said, I have it." I had a second of misgiving as I said it. I know how these things work. When you are absolutely sure you know where something is...there it isn't. I dismissed the thought right away, though, because this time I knew exactly where the title to the Ford was. I have a folder where all the most important of our papers are filed. Birth certificates, immunization records, mortgage papers...and titles to all of our vehicles.
I quickly grabbed the folder and started flipping through. There it was...no wait, that was for the Camry. Maybe this one...no...this was for an old Pontiac I don't even own anymore. I flipped all through the file and was a little dismayed not to find it. But I wasn't too worried. I would just look through again. I was sure I had just overlooked it. It had to be here. Why would it be anywhere else?
So I looked again. Then I broadened my search to include all the papers on my desk. I have a stack outside the important file that is about a foot tall. I keep meaning to go through it, I really do. Half of it is just garbage mail anyway. I just bring it in every day and dump the day's mail onto the pile. So I started going through it. Not there. Hmmm.. I started to get a little worried. Where could it be? I searched the Mr's desk. Nadda. I searched the book case cubbies. Nothing. I took a break. Asked the Lord to assist me in my search. I was sure I would find it.
Two hours later, I was still at it. And starting to get a little crabby I might add.The dishes were piling up, the vacuuming was still undone. The dogs needed care. And I needed to eat. I hadn't eaten all day. But who had time to eat? I opened up my closet and pulled out a large rack on wheels of last years papers. Did I mention that I have a paper problem? It just piles up on me. You wouldn't know it to walk in and look around. My house is clean, but there are papers in the closets, papers in the garage in plastic bins, papers in the shed. I have papers from the year I was married. I have been married almost 24 years. So I pulled out this rack of papers. It's a little cart, really, with a bunch of little plastic drawers. I had some idea a couple of years ago that I would file my papers according to category. You know, banking papers in this drawer, mortgage papers in this one, school papers in another. That lasted about a month. All the papers I meant to put inside the drawers are piled on top, about six inches high.
So I started shuffling. I shuffled through all the papers on the left side of the caddy. Then I started on the right. Then I tackled all the drawers. An hour went by. I didn't find anything. By this time, I think I was almost losing my mind. If there is one thing I hate, it's the paper shuffle. And the devil knows it. It's one of the evil schemes he throws at me when he wants to see me get in a really bad mood. And I fell for it. I started to yell. Then I started to cry. And I don't mean a little bit of crying. I absolutely hate paper searching with a seething purple hatred, I might have even thrown something. The dogs watched my temper tantrum with wary disregard. They stayed out of the way. Finally I gave up. I just threw myself down on the bed and quit. The room was a mess. I had pulled some boxes of papers out of the Mr's closet. The pile I was working on was sitting slightly askew on the floor. Half was still in the box. I decided what I needed to do was eat. So I went downstairs, and did the dishes. Did a load of laundry. Vacuumed the floor. Fed the animals and myself. Then came upstairs.
I decided that the box of papers I was looking at, the ones half in the box and half on the floor were too  old. Not from the era of the title date I was looking for. I got a bigger box, as the one I had pulled out had fallen to pieces as it came free from the closet. I threw all the papers back in and shoved it back in the closet. Then I looked around. I decided I would look through that cart again. This would be the third time. If I couldn't find the title we would just have to drive to Dallas tomorrow to get a new one. We had other plans tomorrow, and neither the money, the gas, nor the time to drive that far. I had another little talk with the Lord, Lord, said I. You know we really can't go to Dallas tomorrow, but we really need that title. Will you help me? By now it was going on 12 hours since the paper shuffle had begun. I could not believe that I had just spent the whole day an entire day looking for this silly piece of paper. The Mr. was engrossed in a Star Trek NG marathon. I quietly began to shift the papers. Again. This time I started on the top right side of the caddy. I got to the bottom of that and started on the top left, with the intention of going through the drawers again if I had to. Then I had an idea. Why not ask my Facebook friends. This was not a new concept. I have done that on occasion when I or one of the family, or sometimes even when my dogs are sick. But I have never asked my friends to pray for me to find a paper!. I posted my request. I went back to shuffling. A minute or two later, an answer popped up. My pastor, with an online prayer. Help her, Lord! I said thanks and continued shuffling.
I pulled out a stack of papers I had been looking at earlier. They were moving papers. From 2013. Why do I still have those? A contract and inventory of what we moved back from Salinas. And there...right in the middle and overlooked two times before...a blue and white paper fluttered out. Dare I hope? I think I actually held my breath. It looked right. I couldn't believe my eyes. It said FORD in bold letters. The wrecked car is the only Ford we own. I still held my breath. It could be the California title...but no...in great big letters across the top it said TEXAS TITLE.
WOO HOOO!!! So very happy! What a day! Prayer works! Even prayer alone is good, but when you add the strength of other believer's prayers alongside your own, when you allow others to shoulder your burden, help you carry the thing, amazing things happen. Now if I could just get my crazy hair to settle down a little...