A good friend ran into some difficulty with her
van’s automatic windows and made an appointment with the dealer. When she
arrived at the service department, the manger looked at his watch and said that
she was “ten minutes late.” Well, things happen, traffic, weather, so what’s
the problem “please fix the van windows.” The man said that there was no way
that he could fit her in now. She was ten minutes late and he had no one
available to look at her van. He was too busy!
Ten years age, maybe five years ago this
Christian woman would have given him a piece of her mind. Was his lack of
courtesy due to the fact that she was a woman, an elderly woman, and a woman in
a wheelchair. This time she took a difficult tack. As he leaned over her van
window, she noticed that his arm was tattooed with a rosary.
Now was this sign from the Blessed Mother? What
young man would have his arm tattooed with such a holy image? Did his mother
harass him that if he wanted a tattoo it must have a religious image like a
cross and not a skull and cross bones. Or, maybe this busy man had an epiphany
moment and felt that the rosary would make a good conversation piece.
“What does it all mean?” she said to herself. She
made the decision to go quietly out the door despite this man’s lack of
courtesy. She prayed to God for strength and courage as she drove away from the
service department without anyone willing to help her with those windows.
On the way home, she asked Jesus and the Blessed
Mother to choose a different way to respond to her dilemma. Instead of feeling
pity, she would choose kindness and patience. She lives with a miserable
debilitating disease for over twenty-five years that has made her mobility
extremely difficult. Don’t people pay attention? Don’t people understand how
hard it is to live physically challenged? However, instead of feeling sorry for
herself. her prayer was “No thanks.” I will not laquish in this moment of
self-pity. She chooses to be a blessing and expressed her thanks for friends
who understand and offer her help in her times of need.
Maybe this story is a wake up call for the rest
of us who have been blessed with good health to say “thank You Jesus” for my
life, my job, my family and health. We might not wear our religion tattoo on
our biceps but we need to have a heart willing to make the sacrifice and care
for those people who need our compassion and patience. We need never be “that
busy.”
God prays for us as we reflect: “The Lord is good to
all, and his compassion is over all that he has made.” (Psalm 145:9)
Lord,
I pray for all my Sonshine Friends who ask themselves “what does it all mean.”
When you feel overwhelmed or misunderstood take it to Jesus and Mother Mary and
say “No Thanks” to pity and your put your trust in God.
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