Some things are just too hard to explain. You just have to be there.
I was speaking at an event in Orlando, Florida. Speaking at conferences is hard work. Especially for an introvert. The sheer volume of people wears me out. But it is fun to be in action. It’s all around a good experience. And this night was no exception.
I spent most of the day in two rooms of the large resort center. I really didn’t get a chance to venture out from breakfast until after dinner. We had banquet style meals, as is often the case. So I didn’t even get to a restaurant.
I hate banquet food. It’s always tasteless. And there never seems to be enough to eat. I don’t eat often but when I eat I need volume. If I remember right they did have broccoli with the meal. And I like broccoli.
The speaker was trying to sell books so I hazed over in my mind as she spoke. I enjoy listening to speakers. I am a serious student of communication and always learning something from a speaker. Some times it’s a new idea. Or a look at what not to do.
But this speaker wanted to get us to the book table throughout her communication with us. Why? I don’t know. She wasn’t that interesting to listen to so I can imagine that her books would have been much better.
I was tired by the time the evening was over. I had spoken four times that day. And that’s a log for anyone. And especially so for someone jet lagged from flying in from the West Coast.
I chatted briefly with a few folks. And checked on how my books were doing. Which are good books and should have sold more as far as I was concerned.
It felt good to get to my room. I was on the twelve floors. There isn’t much of a view form anywhere in Orlando. It just looks like a flat plain and swamp like land and big hotels.
I turned the lights out and was ready to drift off. I was hopeful I was tired enough to make up for the three hour time difference. I struggled for a bit and then drifted off.
I am not sure how long I was asleep. But it wasn’t long. Then the whole world burst into pandemonium. I got up and saw that parking lot was full with I bet 1000 people all standing around shouting encouragement to people running down a twenty yard strip of hot coals. I was amazed.
This went on until most everyone had run down the red-hot runway. It would go on for a couple hours.
But I noted this wasn’t the only show going on. There was yelling outside my door too. It sounded like about twenty women shouting in Jesus’ name and speaking in tongues.
I thought they were trying to get me out of the devils hands for moment. Then I realized my room was right across the hall from a gathering of pretty charged up Pentecostal women.
There wasn’t any sleeping going on.
I didn’t think it would do any good to complain about the parking lot celebration. And I didn’t want to get a hallway of Pentecostal women mad at me. So I just decided to lay still and take it in.
You know listening to people speak in tongues for a couple hours can actually be soothing. I wanted to make fun of them. But their devotion was so sincere I had to admire it. But how I ended up being at the epicenter of an Orlando revival I couldn’t nail down.
It took about two hours for the parking lot to quit down too.
The tongues talkers gradually dissipated down to just two or three lonely voices.
And I got up to see the red coals people and after a couple hours there were just around ten people standing around trying to build the courage up to take their turn at the run.
I finally drifted off to sleep. And that with a smile. It was a good way to end a day.
Oh yeah – I learned the next morning that besides the sizable conference I was speaking at there were the international women’s group called AGLOW and Tony Robbins the motivational speaker had a large conference seminar going too. So I got to attend all three and didn’t pay for any of them.
