It was a terrible day to be on the roads. Snow had been falling all day
long making them slick and hazardous. I would have much rather been in
my warm, little home than driving along on such a windy and Wintry day.
I didn't have a choice though. I had to have my paper work turned in
that day if I wanted to be paid for the work I had done that month, so
it was a trip to the office for me and my son.
The wind cut into
me as I walked out of the office and got back into my car for the 15
mile trip back home. The snow continued to fall as we drove along and I
slowed the car down even more.
I glanced over at my son in his
heavy coat and orange toboggan as he looked peacefully out the window.
In the eyes of the world he was looked upon as mentally handicapped.
Over the years, however, I had begun to see him through the eyes of
Heaven. What I saw was a beautiful, kind and compassionate soul with a
ready laugh and a contagious joy. He had shown me more over the years
about living and loving than I could have ever learned on my own.
I slowed the car to a crawl as we approached a sharp curb. As we
rounded it I saw a shivering, young woman in a light jacket hitchhiking
in the blinding, snow storm. I pulled over and let her in. She was
headed to her Mom's house to visit her son whom she hadn't seen in
months. As I drove carefully along she told me of her life. She had
already been dealt a string of disappointments and tragedies that would
have broken a lesser spirit. Yet, she still held out hope of a new job
and a chance of building a life for her son and herself. After all she
had been through she wasn't about to let a Winter storm keep her from
seeing the child she loved.
I took her as far as I was able and
dropped her off at a place where I was sure she could catch a ride to
take her the rest of the way. She thanked me for the lift and I told her
I wished I could have done more to help. Then as I was about to pull
away I saw my sweet son take off his orange toboggan, roll down the
window, and give it to her. She put it on, smiled, and waved to us as we
pulled out on the road. I waved back and said a prayer to God to watch
over her and be with her always.
As we drove away I realized that
God had once again written straight with crooked lines. He had used a
necessary trip to get me out on the road when I would have rather been
home. He had used a bad snow to slow me down enough to spot that
shivering woman. He had used her story of overcoming so much to
strengthen my own faith. And He had used my mentally handicapped but
spiritually wise son to both touch her life and to show me again how we
are supposed to give, to live, and to love in this life.
In this
world we face so many adversities, challenges, problems, and tragedies.
Sometimes it seems like our entire lives are a trip down a crooked,
curvy, and hazardous road. Yet, God in His eternal love and infinite
knowledge takes that crooked roadway and uses it to lead us straight
back to love, to take us straight back to wisdom, and to guide us
straight on to Heaven.
Joseph J. Mazzella