7 Quick Takes Friday #65

See more 7 Quick Takes Friday contributions at Jennifer Fulwiler's Conversion Diary.

This has been a much better week than last week. I spent most of it visiting our Georgia site, where I could visit with daughter Lizzie; then today, I got to go to my deputy's retirement ceremony and after that to share dinner with a friend from Uzbekistan.

More important, though, were the God moments that pervaded this week. Seven of them are shared below.

1. This week as I have traveled to and from Georgia, I have been reading an interesting book: The Overcomer's Anointing by Barbara Yoder. In spite of the strangeness (to me) of the title, the book has turned out to be enlightening. I purchased it in order to learn more about spiritual warfare in order to help a friehttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifnd who is in the throes of a dark night of the soul. Yoder's take on the dark night is that this is a period of transformation, that God uses such a period before transforming many things, including the creation of the earth. Although this is indeed in keeping with the works of St. John of the Cross, Yoder's book is more accessible than Dark Night of the Soul.



2. I was accompanied to/from Georgia by a colleague, Sue. We were a little concerned that she did not have a confirmed seat on the flight back. Apparently, the plane had been oversold by seven people. It was important that we travel together because Donnie was picking us up in San Francisco (more than an hour away), and Sue, who lives yet another hour south, was planning to come home with me and stay overnight, then continue home. Not arriving with me would really complicate matters. Luckily, volunteers appeared to give up seats, and she got the third one. Whew! We happily clambered into the plane where I found that my seat, alas, was non-reclining, in the last row (aisle, at least), and right in front of the toilet. I figured it was going to be a long 5.5 hours, but had accepted the reality of the situation, telling myself that someone had to be in that seat and it might as well be me, when the person in the middle seat appeared and asked if I would change seats with his friend who was seated in a B seat in row 20. I concurred -- after all, who wants to separate friends? I figured a middle (B) reclining seat was no worse than an aisle non-reclining seat. Imagine my surprise when I found out that 20B was in the exit row -- and there was no A seat. Was God rewarding me for accepting my lot to begin with and being willing to help out a stranger in the second place? I wonder... (In any event, it was a late evening flight, and I reclined the seat, donned an attitude of gratitude, stretched out, and slept the whole way home!)



3. Once home, it was nearly morning, but I got a few hours of sleep, then quickly looked through the mail that had arrived during the week. One was a note from the new formation director at the Secular Franciscan Order (SFO). He will be replacing Goliath. Yes! His note revealed that there would be a place now for God in our formation. Yes!




4. When Sue arose in morning, she took one look out our window at the view of our town and valley and remarked that we are close to heaven here. We are indeed. She agreed that not only the house was a blessing but also that there is likely a reason we are supposed to have it because everything was so "right" about getting it, including the price, which was considerably lower than the house is worth and exactly in the price range that we could afford and were looking for. For that reason, we had no trouble getting a VA loan, and I had, surprisingly, no trouble finding my 1978 (!!) VA certificate of eligibility.



5. I always go to Mass on Friday -- well, almost always. Sometimes events intervene. Today I was going to be late, so I decided to skip Mass. At that point, my admin assistant appeared in my office, reminding me that Mass was starting. I commented that I did not have time to arrive before Mass began, and she commented, "God understands if you are late." I was briefly contemplating whether or not to go when a colleague's admin assistant popped in and made the same comment! Considering that God might be sending me a message, I decided to go. I am glad I did. The rest of the day is always better when I do.




6. My deputy retired today. I will miss him. He brought a spiritual flavor to all our interactions. (A Roman Catholic like me, he wants to study theology in his retirement, and when he showed up three years ago, I knew God had sent him to me.) True to style, his parting remarks left us spiritually rejuvenated -- this in an organization that insists on the separation of church and state.




7. This week I had another go-round with God's credit card. I had not intended to use it for a personal purchase, but I really got stuck two weeks ago. We had to get a special bed for Donnie, who has been unable to sleep in our current bed because of his sleep apnea, gout, and infected leg. He needed an adjustable bed, and those are very expensive, especially one that we can share. We found an appropriate bed in San Jose. I assumed that we would be able to get the bed on credit, but the cost of the bed was such that the company would only allow half the cost to be put on its credit. Stuck there and having God's credit card with me that would easily handle the other half, I hesitated, sighed, then handed it over. Well, as in the past when I have used the card, God changed matters. The company sent a second credit account in the mail this week. Donnie called today and asked what that meant and was told that we can transfer the amount we put on God's credit card to this second credit account and there would be no interest charged as long as we paid off the account on time (in three years). Wow! It seems quite clear that God intends to keep God's credit card open for God's needs, not mine. This is the second time I have been given a new credit card to which to transfer a balance. Unreal!




I wish you a pleasant weekend!