A Lenten Prayer
The month of January 2014 brought my eldest daughter’s acceptance into medical school. I knew the long hours of study and testing that she endured to reach that goal. I was proud of her accomplishments. And yet, as a father, I worried how I would afford the expenses associated with her education. Tuition was excessive; she would need an apartment close to campus; and she would need money for food and other living necessities. She also required a car to travel to and from hospital assignments in Athens, Ohio. Having exhausted the savings set aside for the expenses of her undergraduate education, and with two younger daughters preparing to enter their college years, I struggled to find a way to shoulder the financial responsibilities that loomed large before me.
One Sunday afternoon, just a few months before Brittany was to begin her classes, a neighbor knocked at my front door. He asked me to step outside and pointed at my driveway where a 2000 Buick LeSabre was parked. He explained that his mother had recently passed away and he wanted to give me her car. It was in excellent shape and only had 32,000 miles on the speedometer. He even insisted on covering the cost associated with the title transfer. I never fully understood what prompted my neighbor’s actions. I never discussed my financial predicament with him. I just remember that the gift of that fourteen-year-old car made such a difference in our lives. I was so grateful.
There are times when we humans convince ourselves that we face the struggles in life alone. We measure the outcomes of our difficulties by the strength of our own actions, by the force of our own will. We are surprised when God intervenes on our behalf and in quiet ways tells us “I know you, I am here for you, and I love you.” We are surprised, but we need not be. For God so loved the world that he gave his only son so that we may one day share eternity with him. I need to remember that this Lenten Season. And to be thankful for that greatest gift of all.