This blog post from several years ago surfaced last week as I was going through files. It reminded me “in today time” of the gifts of Grace. My soul today feels nourished by the remembering of what happened then.
Written Late Spring 2013 — Unexpected Soul Care
(Context: This took place during the 18 months I worked as a school bus driver.)
I awoke this morning to the twinges of my body letting me know the emotional work from the weekend has taken its toll. I’m tired, so tired I can feel it in my muscles. Raw throat and stuffy sinuses make me just want to curl up in my bed with my favourite blanket and sleep.
Yesterday was a busy day. Tomorrow promises to be even busier. I’ve been looking forward to today as “turtle time”, my term for withdrawing from outside interaction. I finished my morning bus run, and with anticipation for the quiet of my home giving me energy, radioed to Dispatch that my morning’s work was finished.
“Are you good for the charter this morning?” came the response.
“Come again????”
It turns out that wires got crossed last week. I thought my charter for tomorrow was *instead* of the one today. The person assigning the work thought we’d agreed to “in addition to”.
45 minutes before scheduled pickup isn’t the time to quibble over what went wrong. I sent up a prayer for strength and said, “Sure. I’ll do it.”
I feel Grace move in. My head still feels stuffy. The back of my neck and shoulders still ache. But peace holds court in my soul. I know I am Held in my hour of need.
It turns out our destination is right beside a collection of drainage ponds. After dropping off my young passengers, I park my bus and set off for a for a wander. With all the rain we’ve had lately, the ponds are teeming with life. Redwinged blackbirds, sparrows, and killdeer flutter, fly, and swoop. Ducks and geese paddle around as if they’re on vacation.
Then I see her–a goose sitting in the grass looking for all the world as if she’d been planted there. I tiptoe a little closer and see unmistakable signs of a nest. She eyes me with much the same look as I give my bus passengers when they aren’t sitting properly as we drive. I respect her need for space and circle wide. Then I see another nesting mama, and yet another.
A little further on, I grin at the sight of a pair of adult geese taking their very young family for a walk. This family is the first batch of goslings I’ve seen this year. The first born is easy to pick out, easily twice the size of his or her siblings. The last born is also easy to identify–a blob of fluff so small I almost didn’t see him/her. Eleven others complete the family. I can’t help but think how grateful I am that I’m not trying to keep track of 13 offspring, just days apart in age!
As I type this, a gopher pops his head up from a nearby tiny hill. A grackle and a crow play tag halfway across the parking lot.
Here I am, sitting beside one of the busiest freeways in Manitoba’s largest city, and my soul is being fed by nature’s handiwork. Though I thought what I most needed was a nap, these 90 minutes soaking up the energy of undomesticated Life are restoring me.
The Holy One cares for my soul in the most unexpected of ways. I rejoice in being so Loved.Une
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