BUSTED? NO EMBARASSED! "HOW COULD THIS HAPPEN?

This past Christmas eve, I spent the night at number two son’s house. Early the next morning, we exchanged gifts. My daughter-in-law had made things so fun and cute. Outside of our main gift, she brought a stocking for each of us and inside were some very nice stocking stuffers, plus she gave us other gifts beside. It was very festive and pleasant. One of my gifts was a couple of CD’s of old soul music from back in my day. It came in a package with a square key chain that played part of “When a Man Loves a Woman” when you pressed a button in front of it. Instead of putting my keys on it, I kept it in a little valentine shaped box where I keep a few keepsakes.

Last Friday, my number 4 son’s wife called and told me she was coming to town and was bringing the grandkids with her. Of course that made my day, in fact, my whole weekend. I always look forward to having my grandkids come to town and spend time with me. I guess you might say that this is my pride and joy. Anyway, I made arrangements to take the two older ones with me to church for Sabbath School and then mom would pick them up before 11:00 Worship services because she and her best friend had planned to take the girls out for the afternoon. In order to do this, I needed to give my her the key to my house and she would bring it back to me when she picked up the girls from church. I wanted to put the key on a key chain so she could keep track of it, therefore, I grabbed the one I got for Christmas, slipped the key on it and gave it to her. After Sabbath School, mom came, picked up the girls and gave me back the key to my house.

I placed it in my purse and went into the sanctuary for 11:00 Worship Service, where I sang special music and presented the children’s story to the little ones for the Children’s Ministry segment of the service. While the pastor was preaching the sermon, I felt a need to take a cough drop because my throat became dry. I began digging in my purse to get a cough drop out and accidentally hit the button on the front of the key chain and the music “When a Man Loves a Woman” began playing fairly loudly, at which time several people looked over at me (and if looks could kill, I would have been a dead duck). I looked up and around, and proceeded to walk out; removed the key and placed the keychain in my little classroom and stayed out in the foyer, while all along my mind was thinking about my position as Children's Ministry Leader, Deaconness, Singer, and all of the things I do in the church and in one split second, I was busted as a worldly person. ("How could this happen?") -- Will people judge me as a bad person now?

When the services were almost over an usher came and asked me if I was going to go back in. I told him I was too embarrassed to go back in. This usher, who happens to be a very pleasant person with a sense of humor, told me in his pleasurable way not to worry, that things happen and told me to go back in. I reluctantly re entered the sanctuary. After the service, I started back to my classroom to get the key chain and heard the song going again, at which time I looked up and a couple of the church kids had gotten a hold of the chain and pressed the button again. I quickly retrived it and placed it my coat pocket. Later I found out that people thought it was my cell phone and was, I explained the key chain situation and how it came to be in my purse. It is now back in the little heart shaped box where it should have been the day it went to church with me. What an experience; and an embarrassing one at that. Can you imagine how the pastor must have felt when this music all of a sudden drowned him out while he was preaching? :-( Well, as Forest Gump says: “Gump Happens".

I would like to read some of your embarassing moments. They are not funny at the time but it's good to laugh about them later on. :-D