Tygarjas Twyrls Blog

OK, enough technical stuff, and no politics! I just got my license for the first time in nearly three decades of existence, and that being the freshest thing on my mind, a short tale of the happenings of the past week, and why it is that I call my perceptions of what I lived a perception of God in action . . .

It was an otherwise mundane Wednesday when I went to practice driving with my neighbor and friend. An hour to do a little more parallel parking, and confirm once and for all that I can apparently parallel park better than I can drive my car straight into a parking position. And my friend tells me that I look just about as ready as can be to take the test and get my license. And I agreed, which immediately frustrated me because the test I was probably already prepared for was scheduled for three weeks away. And then God, or at least what I call God, came in.

And my belief is that for God to work in action, one must allow for God to work; one must be open to be guided by the divine, make themself usable by the divine. Which is to say, not be adversarial to some possible “higher” guidance.

And so, when it occurred to me to check to see if there was an appointment the next day what I didn’t think to myself was, “Never mind trying; I already know all the appointments are taken, that’s why my test is so far from now to begin with.” What I said was, “Couldn’t hurt to try.” And lo an behold, there was an appointment open for 2:40 the next day. . . which was too late for anybody to ride down with me. . .

So, I checked again, even though I just checked not ten minutes prior and the computer said that that was the earliest time available. And, lo and behold, there was an 11:40 slot open for me to grab. So, I did.

And I consulted with my neighbor, who made arrangements to be able to go with me. And then as I was walking down to meet another friend, he calls and tells me that he had a prior engagement he had forgotten about, and can’t ride down with me. And just as I end the call, I see just a few steps away another friend who happens to be free the next day!

And the next day is storming. A scary day to drive on the highway. The kind of day when a tester might test just a little less rigorously . . . And nearly three decades of being without the legal ability to drive comes to an end. I mean, three weeks from now may have been bright and sunny, and that may have wound up being a day I hit the curb whilst parallel parking for the tester, and then I’d be waiting even longer for the legal privilege of driving.

Epilogue:

I made a deal with myself that I’d surprise my younger brother by stopping in at his house in San Mateo once I finally got my license. And so, on the way back from Redwood City, I did. And, lo and behold, he happened to be in a play that night I wasn’t aware of; and, that was the one night I had work off, and thus could attend. And so I dropped off the person riding with me, and made my first solo drive through rain and night on the California highway to see my little brother in a beautiful performance of “The Grapes of Wrath” in which the opening of the play discusses how we all may be part of the same soul. As in, we don’t so much have our own souls as that we are all a part of the same soul.

And that to me is God in action. And that’s my story!

TTFN