Sunday, April 09, 2006

faithfulness

today marks a week in the promised land. i finally found a grocery, with such an array of fresh flowers, it was utterly delightful. i also found a local open mic, and my first ny open mic will be april 20. huzzah. (there is a used section at this particular barnes and noble, and i found two merton books i've yet to read!)

my sister and i went to the mall, and when i go places i pray for parking spaces and say,
okay God, do Your thing.


i don't really grasp what i ask of God. this is true in every case.

so we walked from the parking space that opened and i was actually able to maneuver the dodge ram into--i've often given up in frustration and not parked in a space (twice yesterday i parked no problem)--and realized the parking lot was literally bumper to bumper cars waiting to get somewhere, looking for spaces. we literally pulled in and parked in under five minutes. we hadn't realized how blessed we were (this is also true in every case).

the mall was crammed with humanity. techno sounds blaring. people bustling by. it was lightly hailing when we set out that afternoon, and rained a bit, so i guess everyone had the same idea as us. check out the mall.

we killed a bit of time, had a few laughs, and found our car. but on the way, we noticed cars parked here and there behind the spaces with their hazards on. i stopped at one of these cars and there were three african american ladies. i said,
my truck is right there.
they said,
okay, we'll come around.
so we walked slowly through cars as not to be followed.

when i arrived at my truck with the ladies following immediately behind, a blazer of some sort pulled up and demanded the spot. i pointed to the ladies, but the blazer sat there blinker obstinate. i sauntered to the back of the car and spoke to the ladies who had placed their vehicle perpendicular to mine.

he wants the spot.
they said.

too bad.
i said. and struck a pose against the bed of my truck. eating my oreo blizzard. i casually put the red spoon in my mouth and smiled at the ladies who were still maneuvering their car into position.

the blazer sat there, blinking away.

i did not move.

he gave up and left.

i hopped in my car and pulled out so the ladies could pull in. we had no idea how to find the freeway again or if we'd get stuck in the lines of gridlock surrounding the mall, but i prayed, as i always pray.

i have no idea where i'm going Lord, help.


and He did, as He always does. Helped.

we ended up turning right on the road that we needed to. found the freeway no problem, and were headed in the right direction, again, in under five minutes.

so i get off the freeway, still uncertain of where the heck i am (remember, this is only the first time i've been out driving during the day). so i said,
Lord, give me a sign.

my sister said,
a zebra flag. there's your sign. keep going.


we drove a bit more.

the flag of mexico. keep going.


i found this funny, because she says all the time,
i don't hear from God.
yet tells me she doesn't need maps because she just "knows" where to go and how to get there.

maybe this mapless knowing is God speaking?
i asked her.

she said nothing.

we found the store. shopped and found home. it is the closest big store, which i now know how to get to. i'd been shopping in our village each day, walking down main street getting one or two things i need for dinner. we have NO storage space in this place. so i can't buy a lot because there is no where to put it. but this gatherer role i'm playing really suits me and it forces me to go out into the world.

that's really all. no thrilling punchline. just life. but God is faithful in the tiniest details, and that is plenty.

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