On Sunday, I was at church from noon to three-thirty at the closure of the RCIA program
for this term. We went to Mass together
one final time as a group, and then we headed to the classroom for a graduation
style celebration. I put together a
slide show from pictures I gathered throughout the year- there were speeches,
prizes to the top students, the handing out of the Sacraments certificates and
closing with a yummy potluck. However,
since we run on Mexican time things went later than anticipated and due to
another commitment I was unable to stay and eat. From
there I rushed to my friend’s house because I had promised to watch her two
boys from four in the afternoon to midnight.
By the time I got to her house I was starving! Her two-year-old still has separation anxiety
so as my friend and her husband left the crying began, but I had offered Mass
earlier for this specific moment. And I
busted out a really cool Star Wars flashlight from my bag of tricks and
miraculously the crying lasted no more than five minutes. The night went really well, I had an awesome
time with the boys building a cardboard gingerbread house I took with me and
then we had a movie night and they went to bed happy. I was able to pray my daily rosary as I
waited for my friends to return home.
All was fine and going to plan, until I got in my car to go home. I was exhausted from a long day and craved my
bed- when I realized that my car wouldn’t start!
Keeping a
positive attitude during troublesome times is tough! The first words out of my mouth were, “God
please make my car start I want to go home and sleep!” Yet, as I kept trying to turn on the car I
realized that I was stuck and then I started getting upset. The weight of the long day started getting to
me and I began to complain. When
troubles come, our natural response is usually not to praise God. As I kept
trying to start the car growing more upset - a thought came to mind that
perhaps this was God’s way of keeping me safe from an accident. So, I went back inside my friend’s house and
waited for AAA to come to my rescue. The
mechanic was able to start my car and I was able to drive home. I got home delighted for my bed and
slept. Yet the next morning I woke up to
the problem that my car still needed to get to the shop to get the starter
replaced. Looking for a mechanic on a
holiday was challenging. Knowing that my
day off would now involve me spending most of my day at the car shop again was
displeasing. 
Joy is that
wonderful feeling that comes from being at peace with God, yourself and others... I knew that the problem would get fixed. Also, my family devised a plan in case I
would be without a car for a day or two with carpooling schedules. And again I felt like God was keeping me safe
through this incident. So, I decided to
make the best of the situation and though my day was wasted in the car shop my afternoon
turned out to be delightful! Joy is a
choice. Peace is a choice. And we can’t attract people to God without
reacting a little different to the trials that life sends our way. I try to be content, to lead a peaceful life,
but when challenges come I do lose my cool and need to rely on God to get me
back in focus. He’s taught me that my
attitude really has great power over how I handle tribulations. I can make things worse with a sour viewpoint,
thus as the cliché goes, “when life gives you lemons…”
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