Wanna trade?

There are times, like today, that I would love to trade jobs with someone. A baker. A landscaper. A minister. A church secretary. Im sure that somewhere there is someone who would love to trade with me. Lets go day for day. Ill give you my day for yours.
I started this day(s) yesterday at 3:00pm. I packed up and left nashville after a meeting with a publishing guy who basically told me I was good and had good stuff... but thats all. No "and here is what I want to do with/for you"... have to say I was a little disappointed, but mostly because I went in not knowing much about him and his business. Would not have been a good fit, i think. Dont just want to write Christian songs... dont just want to be a songwriter. But it was good to get him crossed off the contact list. I have opened that door and closed it. No ambiguity there- Except that he said he wanted to send the CD to a friend of his who does publishing in Amsterdam. Hmm. Not exactly what I had in mind.. but hey- remember the Phillipines.
I left that meeting and got on the road to the Twin Cities. Not the best way to make a fourteen hour drive, starting at 3:00pm. I had the show today at noon in Saint Paul, and figured i would drive until I was tired and then sleep in the car for a few hours, then drive on in and play the show. I dont like to drive at night anymore, really... I pretty much made Holly a promise that I wouldnt drive overnight anymore, but there really was no way to help it- I really had to meet with Mr. Amsterdam and then get to MN.
I drive until about two, pull over and sleep for an hour and a half in some parking lot, wake up cold and cramped, get back on the road, drive for another hour and then pull over again, leave the car on this time w/ the heat on, sleep for two hours, get up and drive on to Eau Claire, Wisc, only about an hour outside of St Paul, this time I (discreetly) pee and sleep for another few hours in a deserted Holiday Inn parking lot. ( runon sentence...who needs periods, anyway) Then I rolled into St. Paul and got ready for the show that no one in the student activities office knew anything about. Sit around and wait for the sound guy who might show up- and sing to the students, who might have noticed I was there, for about an hour and twenty interminable minutes. No one knows anything about any checks... i leave a message for my contact who wasnt there and head out for... well.... nowhere. I have to play here in town tomorrow night, so I am stuck here for a while. I think I might have a hotel room paid for me tonight if I can just get ahold of the coordinator lady. So... I drove down here and set up camp at a little dive of a coffee shop in Dwntwn St. Paul. This place is out of a movie. Teeny tiny- sign says COFFEE and INTERNET. The "INTERNET" is scrawled under the COFFEE in spraypaint. I walk in and the smoke about bowles me over. Its like, coffee, 75 cents... tattoo, cigarettes, and peircings required. Pool table, booths with video poker at every table, the ubiquitous Ms Pacman in the corner... I clear a table on my own and sit down with a chai and bagel sandwich- and pull up the wireless wonder of communication- the internet. Amazing.
Today is a day that I would trade. I would trade the drive- the (lack of) sleep- the smoke and french techno blaring over me right now- the mean, mean "barista" coffee lady with the metal in her face- the schools that pay you to do something that no one cares if you do or not... this is not what i wanted... exactly. BUT- I know that God is using this. Using me. I still have the distinct feeling that this day will move me further into His will, even in my lack of faith or appreciation for the opportunity to minister and witness to a hundred college kids today.
Truthfully-I say that I would trade all this- but thats a lie. I dont love it but it is where I am and where I can be His. I just wish Holly were not loving all this with me.