Thank You For Lessons

Thank You Lord for the lesson You taught.
Waiting for my son for an hour and a half.
Wondering if something had gone terribly wrong.
Franticly driving around looking for a phone.
Wondering why I hadn’t gotten that cell phone.
Had the town gotten rid of all public phones?
Finally finding a phone hidden from view.
Quickly dialing, hearing it ring hoping for good news.

My heart sank when the computer voice
politely asks for a message.
My other son on the computer
no one will answer me.
Angrily I smash down the receiver.
Stress steals my intelligence.
I rush back to the empty
company parking lot.

Where can he be?
What do I do?
Has he gotten a ride?
How can I know?
Uncertainty gnaws at my soul.
Has something terrible happened?
I return to call again.
I don’t have much more change.

I hope this phone has a number listed
to tell the computer where to call me.
Imagine my relief at hearing my wife.
Quickly I ask if he’s called.
Expecting an answer.
Expecting relief.
Imagine my fear
she says he’s not called.

It’s hard to be joyful.
It’s hard to remember
God is in charge
when there isn’t any answer.
I explain to her I will go back
and wait…again
and call in a half hour
to hear if there’s news.

Returning again and waiting…
He finally comes out the door.
He doesn’t seem worried at all.
He was too busy to call -
involved in something important.
Why was I so upset?
Why was I angry?
He hadn’t done anything wrong.

He pointed out to me
how many times he’s waited for me.
I saw myself in him.
Thank you Lord for the lesson you taught
to remember to think about others.
I ask forgiveness for all the times
I’ve been too busy to remember others.
© Presbypoet, March 27, 2004

So often God tries to teach us,
but we only complain. - Presbypoet