MEAN, MAD AND PUT-UPON

In his October Community Assistance Letter, my beloved Mac wrote, "Dorothy Day wrote that Jesus 'made heaven hinge on the way we act toward Him in his disguise of commonplace, frail and ordinary human beings.'"

I told Mac that I believed that I'd met Jesus at the Hospital Center’s new pay-for-parking kiosk. Never having seen one before, and being absolutely machine-phobic, I was approaching it with trepidation, also known as gut-bucket fear...fear that I'd never figure it out, that me and my car would be stuck in the garage at this ugly place forever, and Ruckus would starve to death for lack of love and food.

It happened that an old man was there ahead of me. He was kinda twisted and bent over, dressed a tish shabbily. He looked like I felt...mean, mad and put-upon. He was trying to figure out this new thing, and clearly, he didn’t have a clue. I knew that I didn’t either, but that I, too, would have to learn. 

The man was muttering and cussing...talking to himself. So I answered and we got to figuring the thing out together. We finally did, he got his ticket to ride, we shook hands, and he walked away. 

I turned back to the machine and here comes the main ticket for him...the first ticket is a receipt, apparently (sheez!)  I quick call to him as I tear off the ticket and hand it to him. I go back to figuring it out for me, and I did good. I got my ticket, turned away, and he’s still there and he laughingly says, “You’re doing the same thing I did!” My main ticket was just coming. He pulls it out and hands it to me just as I’d handed his to him. We were giggling like teenagers when we parted. 

Here's why I know that was divine intervention: The fact is when I'm all alone and attempting anything new, I nearly always fail on my first attempts. I get utterly frustrated, quit, cry, and have to take an hour's break...at least. If I have anyone, from a five-year old child to a ten-year old dog, beside me, I stay calmer. Also, the man was not intimidating or threatening to me. He was not a well-dressed professional who might not know what he was doing but would not welcome a little old lady's intervention...nor was he a muscle-bound younger man with tatts in a wife-beater and bandanna. In either of those cases, I would have waited out-of-sight and felt sorry for myself.

In my heart, soul, body and brain, I know that I met Jesus yesterday. He's very human.

Thank you.