When Things Line Up

This morning is a full morning; get Patrick off to school, get two quiches made for MOPS, get Katherine ready for the day, get myself ready for the day...a well-organized, lubricated gears kind of morning.

The bus usually arrives between 7:25 and 7:30 so when it hadn't arrived by 7:35 I figured I would have to take Patrick to school. So I finished my quiches and got them in the oven and then got in the car to take Patrick to school. While I waited for Patrick to get his shoes on and get in the car I started the engine...or tried. Nearly dead, my battery couldn't turn the car over. One of the doors got left open and the dome lights were on all night draining the battery. As I'm picking up the phone to call Joerg to come back home to boost the battery Patrick's bus, now fifteen minutes late, flies by the house (the bus comes down River Cove Road, passes our house, turns around at a turn-about down the street and then picks up Patrick on the way back up River Cove Road - that way he doesn't have to cross the street). I get Patrick on the bus then call Joerg, but now instead of being panicked and rushed I can relax.

With Patrick on his way to school and my quiches in the oven I can work on the other things that I need to do without being in a hurry. I don't have to leave until 8:30 so I have plenty of time. Joerg will be here shortly to take care of the battery and I can go about my business and still be on time for MOPS.

Now consider the alternative. Patrick gets on the bus at 7:30 and I go about my business completely unaware of the battery problem. 8:30 rolls around and Katherine and I are ready to go to MOPS (with a detour to IBM to take Joerg his wallet and cell phone, which he forgot). I start the car which has a dead battery. Now I have to call Joerg to come help me, but *now* I'm going to be late for MOPS and Katherine and I have to sit in the car waiting.

I think the way it worked out is a much better. So minor, but two things occur to me: One - God knows how much I enjoy MOPS and doesn't want me to be late so he devised this elaborate plan to make sure that I could arrive on time. Two - since He could have just as easily juiced my battery when I went to start the car, or prevented the guys from leaving a door open after their bike ride last night thereby draining the battery, I have to believe that He delights in showing off just a little, reminding me that He is watching and intervening - something I sometimes lose sight of. By moving things along the way He did, I get a gentle reminder that He is there making my path straight when it's appropriate to do so.

Had my car just started this morning I would have missed this teachable moment; this reminder of how much God cares about my coming and my going.