We had torrential rain all day. I usually love the sound of rain, but there is one sound I don’t like: drip. Drops. Drops.
It’s really not a sound I want to hear from the roof of my car.
As the rain got heavier, the drop quickly turned into a steady stream that poured over my wallet, seat, and floor. I hurried to plug the leak on the edge of the sunroof, thinking I should have known the tomato had exploded like this that morning.
I hadn’t been awake for five minutes and I badly needed coffee. As I reached for a coffee mug, I noticed mold on the top of the tomato I had left on the counter to ripen. It was a large tomato – six inches in diameter – and a really beautiful tomato by any measure. I was looking forward to biting into the BLT I had planned for lunch. I lifted it carefully to see if any part could be saved. When I picked it up, the tomato broke. I stood holding the dripping remains of the tomato skin at the epicenter of a two-meter radius of red pulp. My lunchtime dreams were ruined. I was on the floor wiping up the red smear before I even had my coffee.
It was such a day.
That evening my son came home with a fearful expression on his face. “What happened?” I asked.
“A stone fell from a construction trailer onto my windshield!” He exclaimed.
I went out to examine the damage. It was irreparably broken.
Why wasn’t I surprised? I was glad it was 9:00 p.m. because I really wanted the day to end.
I sat by my bed and took a deep breath as I worked to center myself before starting the exam. Thank you sir for … um … my car roof is leaking … my son’s windshield is broken? Really Lord what was that?
Hmmm, that didn’t sound very grateful, I thought to myself.
I took a deep breath and refocused.
I suddenly realized that it could have been a lot worse.
Thank you Lord for sitting in my car when it started raining so I could plug the hole and cover the roof so that my car doesn’t get completely flooded because it’s supposed to pour all night.
Thank you Lord that the large stone that smashed my son’s windshield was stopped by the windshield and not instead hit my son’s face. (The stone had broken the windshield right in front of his face).
I know these things happen, Lord. I’m sorry I didn’t realize you actually helped us with this.
Please give me the strength to get through tomorrow and please help us find good mechanics who can help us fix our cars!
As I went to sleep, it occurred to me that St. Ignatius had really found gold with the exam. The exam always helps me put things in perspective. Praying it before bed helps me dump the things that are on my head and sleep free from the day’s events. And it gives me hope as I am always reminded that tomorrow is a new day – fresh and unbroken.
Photo by Immo Wegmann on Unsplash.