Dark Clouds

It was a regular dark night and I was working a part-time job as a Dominoes delivery driver.  Being ambitious I pursued trying to secure a more stable financial position for myself and my future.  The future like many of the great mysteries of life is veiled in uncertainty and no factual reassurances except those we base upon a foundation of faith.  For in wisdom, one will plan his future, set his goals and pursue them with a feverish passion to see those future endeavors become a reality.  Tonight was one such night for me.  I had dreamed of being able to save sufficient funds to procure myself a new personal computer.  In regards of over-all goal setting this might seem like a small matter but the lesson for me was not in what my goal’s pursuit was but the simple reality that we do not control every instance of our lives. 

I was on my last delivery for the night and it had been both an enjoyable and profitable night for me.  Little did I know my high spirits would soon be changed to one of a drearier and wretched state because of unforeseen circumstances?  I counted myself lucky to be on my last delivery then my first instance of misfortune occurred. I blew out a tire turning into Cottonwood corner in Pinewood Gardens.  It had been raining previously that day and I had not seen the sink-hole in the road.  I got out of my car to get my spare tire and jack only to discover misfortune number two.  I had lent out my jack to my cousin and he neither returned it nor did I remember that I had given it to him before now.  I could have kicked myself for being so forgetful and irresponsible for something so essential.

Luckily for me I was not too far away from a friend’s house but here was my next dilemma.   I was already forty minutes late with delivering my order from the time I spoke with my customer and my order was twenty minutes late leaving the store being an hour late in total.  My customer was located on the main Bamboo Boulevard and I decided to just walk and deliver his order before it got any later.

I was no more than fifteen feet from my customer’s house when it started to rain.  I ran so that his order would not have gotten wet since the bag offered it some protection.  I apologized for my tardiness and trudged back to my car cursing the rain on my way.  I was now drenched and it was dark and hard to see to change a tire.  Graciously my friend was home and lent me her tire jack.  Eventually I was able to get the tire changed and started my journey back to the store.

I was so exhausted from my day’s activities and disheartened by all of the miss-happenings I fell asleep in my car in the parking lot to the store.  I do not recall how long I was asleep but when I awoke I was still upset about what had happened that evening.  When I entered the store I saw by the expression on some of my co-workers faces that they were in shock and others were crying. To my disbelief, during the time I had taken a nap the store had been robbed at gun-point.  If I had entered the store at the approximate time I would have walked right into the robbery and possibly gotten hurt or caused someone else to have gotten hurt by startling the robber. As difficult as my evening was and although it appeared there was nothing but dark clouds blocking my view, those very dark clouds protected me and gave me a new perspective on how difficulties are not always meant to harm or discourage us as we journey in this life. 

 A Moment of Clarity

There will always be circumstances that cause dark clouds in your life where everything appears bleak and as if the very universe has turned against you.  Moments would make you want to despair, get angry and curse everything. It is hard to see a silver lining when all around appears to be bleak and not going your way.  Remember always that as difficult as it is to deal with painful and sometimes unexpected circumstances that those very circumstances can offer us the best opportunities to grow as individuals and even bring protection from even more dire situations.  Be grateful for each moment of life you are given and learn to be everyday a Beacon of Light.

 Beam of Light for the Week 

The words thank you takes less than a second to say in most languages but a moment of gratitude is all it takes to impact a heart permanently.