Besides the new, adorable things that Evangeline (my almost 11 month-old daughter) did yesterday, the highlight of the day was, without a doubt, meeting Carrie Underwood at the Whole Foods in Green Hills. Even today it still doesn’t seem real, but it happened, and here is the story.
I was pulling out of the Whole Foods parking garage while talking to my wife on the phone. As I did so, I happened to see a blond-haired woman wearing a pink sweatshirt walking along the sidewalk toward the store entrance. I had a reasonably good look at her face, and said to Deborah, “I think I just saw Carrie Underwood.” She immediately encouraged me to go back into the store to make sure. I mumbled something about bad traffic (it was close to 5 PM, and if you’ve ever been in Green Hills at that time of day you know what I mean), but Deborah mentioned that “you might not get another chance,” or, “you’ll always wonder.” Then she asked, “Are you going to invite her to dinner?” To which I quickly replied, “No, I don’t think I’ll even talk to her.” Ending my call with Deborah, I was about to turn onto Hillsboro Road when Carpe Diem got the better of me, and I turned around. Back to the parking garage I went, quickly found a place, and re-entered the store. The pink sweatshirt was fairly easy to spot, so I got another glance somewhere in the produce section and was 99% sure it was Ms. Underwood. Now the challenge became to find a moment to speak to her when there were not a lot of other people around. I pretended to shop for about the next five minutes (it felt longer, maybe it was) looking for an opportunity. Finally, I made up my mind, walked around a corner and there she was. Immediately I said, “Excuse me. Carrie Underwood?” She said, “Yes,” with a slight I-would-rather-not-be-bothered expression, but was gracious nonetheless. I blathered something about being a big fan, and I am not sure what else. At some point I introduced myself and she extended her hand, and then I proceeded to tell her that my wife and I had always said that if we ever met her in person, we would invite her over for dinner. With a smile she asked, “Can you cook vegetarian?” I assured her that would not be a problem given our own family’s special dietary needs. I probably thanked her again, and then walked away. No sooner did I walk away than I realized she did not have a way of contacting me. So I quickly pulled out one of my cards, circled around to where she was in the frozen foods, and handed it to her saying, “This is my contact information.” She took the card, and I thanked her for allowing me to disturb her, which she said wasn’t a problem. That’s my story of meeting Carrie Underwood.
Now, as I reflected upon this last night during supper, I began to think upon on the providence of God, and all of the details that had to be just right for this meeting to take place. Before I shopped at Whole Foods, I went to Trader Joe’s. Before going to Trader Joe’s, I intended to get a haircut, but found out my regular barber was not at the shop, so I ended up going straight to Trader Joe’s from my house. The route that I took to get there; the delay of waiting on a worker to check on a product we had bought there in the past, but apparently no longer carry; seeing Jonathan Rogers in the Whole Foods Café after arriving there and speaking with him for a few minutes; and then the list of things I needed to purchase, and the time it took for me to procure them at Whole Foods. All of the minutes and seconds worked out so that as I was driving out of the parking garage there was Carrie Underwood. Of course, you can argue this to be the case for any event or encounter. For instance, finding a great parking space at the mall has more variables and factors than we can possibly imagine. Still more, if you had asked me who would be the one Nashville celebrity I would most like to meet, without a doubt, I would answer Carrie Underwood. Add to that the running tongue-in-cheek agreement between Deborah and me about inviting her over for dinner if we ever met her only adds another layer of satisfaction and enjoyment to the experience. So, believing in the providence of God, which I do, and knowing that He knows all of the variables involved (including Miss Underwood’s schedule that day), this “chance” meeting was perfectly orchestrated within the bounds of choices that were made and factors out of my control. There is mystery in such a reality, to be sure, but there is also reason for thanksgiving. The Lord “discerns my thoughts from afar” and is “acquainted with all my ways” (Psalm 139:2, 3), and that being true, meeting Carrie Underwood was hardly an accident.
And Miss Underwood, just in case you come across this post, please know that you and your husband have a standing invitation for dinner at our home.