Today was a typical day at work, in that the clock there seems to take longer to move, than the one I have at home. As a person who works in a uniformed capacity, there are some funny moments, but quite often there are incidents that have a direct affect on my faith. This Friday was one of those, as I had to respond to help staff at an establishment, deal with an emotionally disturbed child. Due to privacy I cannot of course disclose where, but I was heartbroken to see this seven year old boy with Autism, screaming and throwing around furniture. My bald head was almost pelted by a chair in the process, and this young man continued to scream and act out of control for nearly an hour. This wasn't my first call for such an event, and it probably won't be my last. Yet this one really hit me at a level that none has before, as this young child had more anger than I've ever seen, and strength that defies conventional logic.
After turning this child over to his mother, I left deeply shaken. My mind instantly went to "how can God allow for this young man to suffer so much, or the burden that his parents must face on a regular basis." I sat in the solitude of my car, and although I did not weep, it was a close call. It was more of a shock than anything else, and in addition to a pounding headache from his screaming, I started to question my faith. While that is not frequent, it does happen from time to time. Faith is a work in progress, and after spending a few minutes quietly reflecting on this incident, I went to a Subway restaurant for lunch. In front of me was a sweaty man, who had a t-shirt on for a lawn care service. He asked me if I wanted to go ahead of him, and I demurred thanking him for his kindness, and he told me "God is great." On a 100 degree day, this good man was at the right place at the right time. As I waited for my order, I saw him praying to God before eating. I couldn't help but thank him before leaving, and he looked at me and said, "Due to the love of God, if I don't see you around here another time, I'll see you in Heaven one day."
Later on in the day, I met a lady who told me about her son. She told me about how proud she was of him, and I'm not easily impressed, but her "service above self" approach brought me back into the fold. Her son graduated from college recently, just completed his first year of teaching, and has chosen to work with the "most difficult of children." He has taken a lot of them under "his wing," and still goes down to his college town on a regular basis, to continue his mentoring program. There he engages teenagers by teaching them how to break dance, and usually the next day, their parents show up. The parents join their children in learning how to do various dance moves, and she told me of how she believes in helping others. An example of this, is how her daughter whom she should also be proud of, stood up for another girl who was about to get beaten down for no good reason. Her daughter also showed the iniative, of getting her parents to teach another young person how to drive, so she could become more productive by getting a job while going to school.
God works in mysterious ways, and today was a good day after all. There are bumps in the road, where our faith is tested. Some days, to quote a commercial, "are better than others." Yet each day begins anew, with possibilities and chances to have your faith strengthened. Sure, it can be a bit like a rubber band at times, but you always come home to the Holy Spirit that surrounds us at our most difficult of moments. I pray for that young man, and his family. I also pray for this kind woman, who has shown her children the proper path in life, and that man who works for a lawn care service. They are examples of faith in action, and I very much am appreciative for them today. Our actions have a direct effect on each other, and through God's love, we can become not perfect, but at least content and know that we can accomplish much more with faith than without it.
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