Wild Woman: Free Bird Adventure Day 3

"Well behaved women rarely make history." - Laurel Thatcher Ulrich

While my behavior this weekend has been expemplary, this quote on a t-shirt at the Missouri History Museum, grabbed my attention. So much so, that I payed astronomical prices to have a set of greeting cards with the saying printed on them. More on this in a moment.

I started the day with full intentions of finding a church to attend as any good christian girl would. I couldn't find any that peaked my interest in less than 30 miles, so instead I slept in. At first I was a little disconcerted but then I remembered even God took a day to rest. After rolling out of bed around 10 again I spent some time praying, worshiping and reading my Bible. Its amazing how the most refreshing part of my trip so far is something I could do at home, but often neglect. A definite thought to ponder and to work on when I am home again. Could it be that I would find more rest in the word of God, than in the stress of a "to-remain-nameless" department store?

At that same "to-remain-nameless" department store a customer recommended a restaurant called Bacana Brasil Churrascaria. Churrascarias are little restaurants where the meat is cooked on large skewers and then brought to your table where they slice a fresh piece off for you. Bacana means "hip" or "cool" in Portugese. It was definitely a "bacana" restaurant. I had pieces of sirloin, top sirloin, filet, bacon wrapped chicken, sausage, and my personal favorite garlic steak. Its a good bet that I haven't had that much red meat combined since I started working at my most recent place of employment. The all you can eat menu also featured garden salads, pasta salads, regular potatoes, sweet potatoes, rice, chicken wings, and all kinds of imaginable sides. The picture is of a very stuffed me standing outside the restaurant. Located in Chesterfield, about a 20 minute drive from downtown St. Louis, this restaurant is pricey, but worth the expense. The adage you get what you pay for applies. (I would suggest not ordering soda. At $3.15 it is the most expensive soda I've paid for in the United States!)

Any weight that I've recently lost, was gained back in one meal, so I tried to counter act it by strolling through the St. Louis Art muesum located in Forest Park. For a free museum it was quite impressive. Art samples from all around the world and times made the collections seem exotic and ecclectic. The thought occured to me that people emphasize certain aspects of themselves in their art. African artists accentuate the forehead and the animalistic nature of the human. They even believed that when they wore their masks, they were no longer human, but were overtaken by the spirit they represented. This is in tandem with their beliefs and practices that we are all connected to the earth we came from. Chinese art often highlighted the pale faces and ornate dress of the people in their culture. European art gave literal weight to people in their portraits. Weight was equated with opulance and therefore the bigger the better. I wonder what those people would think of our obese society. American art, especially art from around the St. Louis area depicts a jovial aspect. Rosy cheeks and excitable eyes seemed to prevail in most of the art. An illusion is created that the America of the past is better than the America of the present or the future...or maybe thats just an interpretation of the beholder. Any way I loved the museum and was incredibly excited to see "Water Lillies" by Monet! This particular piece is one of three...one of the other pieces is at the Nelson Atkins in KC. Guess I'll have to plan a little trip there too.

Maybe the most beautiful art was not actually in the museum but in the park. God's artwork combined with man made fountains and landscaping really made for a beautiful afternoon. I walked around the park for 45 minutes or so, just enjoying the sun. This park is situated on part of the ground that was used for the World's Fair in 1904. Very little of the fair remains, but you could almost see women in long dresses and men in top hats, foreign visitors in traditional garb of their countries, and little children running around and screaming.

I learned more about the World's Fair and Charles Lindbergh at the Missouri Muesuem of History. A Vatican Treasures exhibit was also at the museum, but I took on an air of superiority when I found out they were charging $20 a person to see the exhibit. Why would I want to pay that to see a mili-fraction of what is actually in the Vatican, when I payed less to see where it belongs? Pride is obviously something I should be working on. I loved the exhibit on the World's Fair and am now having a strong desire to watch Meet Me in St. Louis.

Most things on Sunday close early so I decided to use my evening free time to just relax and read. I finished off a book that was long overdue to be read. Sitting on the balcony of the hotel, drinking an ice cold pepsi (i took the ice bucket up with me so I could refill my cup), and enjoying the city view, I was able to unwind. Thankfulness became overwhelming. I am thankful for this opportunity to get away, thankful to have the financial ability to do it, thankful for a family who is anxious to see me - even though I've only been gone a few days, and thankful most of all to my Creator for giving me a heart of love, a heart of travel, and a heart of desire.

Those three things make me think I truely am supposed to be a wild woman. Not to be famous, or to change the history of the world, but maybe to change the history of one person's life. God is calling me to be wild. I've felt that call before. My trip to Italy was part of that call. Looking on women who have changed history most did it because they knew they were responsible to someone greater than themselves. Mary, Rahab, Ruth, The woman at the well, Mary the sister of Martha. All of these women did something unexpected, un precidented, and completely uncharacteristic of woment of the time.

So my prayer becomes this. That I never lose my spirit of adventure. That I never lose my wild side. Even if that means vacationing alone, sharing my faith with someone, or just trying to make my job the most exciting thing it can be. I am a Wild Woman! I am living the history God created for me.

verse of the night (the story of one wild woman): Matthew 26:6-13 "While Jesus was in Bethany in the home of a man known as Simon the Leper, a woman came to him with an alabaster jar of very expensive perfume, which she poured on his head as he was reclining at the table. When the disciples saw this, they were indignant. 'Why the waste?' they asked. 'This perfume could have been sold at a high price and the money given to the poor.' Aware of this Jesus said to them, 'Why are you bothering this woman? She has done a beautiful thing to me. The poor you will always have with you, but you will not always have me. When she poured this perfume on my body, she did it to prepare me for burial. I tell you the truth, wherever this gospel is preached throughout the world, what she has done will be told, in her memory.'"

(For more of this story see Mark 14, Luke 7, and John 12)