In the spring of 1983, I was working as a motorcycle messenger in the Washington, D.C. area. I had been doing this for at least a few years, I can't remember how long, but after riding through a very long, very cold and very rainy winter and spring, it seemed like forever.
I was 24. My desires for a love life were at best a disaster with no light in sight. I was struggling through Prince Georges Community College, and my aspirations for an academic life were also the roughest of roads. It had been a long winter and I had no springtime in my heart, although the calendar said was so, so I guess it was.
More exactly, it was time for the cherry blossoms in Washington. That afternoon I picked up a package on Capitol Hill and was delivering it to someplace in Georgetown, unremarkable in all respects. I headed west on Independence Avenue.
I suddenly was mad at myself for not remembering it was cherry blossom time, as the traffic, and the pedestrians (who would seemingly mindlessly walk into the road). Ugh! This was going to a waste of time! (Messengers are paid by the piece.)
But stunningly, the place was virtually empty! - A cab here or there. A curtain of cherry blossom petals was blowing across the road from right to left at about a 45 degree slant. It was very beautiful. It was emotional; it felt like this moment in time was made for me. The petals were making little pink tornadoes as they whirled across the road. I changed lanes to blow my bike right though them. The petals were so thick it was like the star field simulations screensavers or a pink snowstorm only more intense.
Then it happened. I mean I was fully in the moment. (Being fully in the moment at all times is the only healthy option for motorcycle messengers.) The best I can describe it was like a physical sensation, but a real sensation like looking at this page.
I felt I was being hugged as a father comforts a child. The non-verbal sensation message was clear, "I am with you". It lasted more than a moment, enough to really feel it. Then it was gone.
I thought did that really happen? - am I having some issue? I had to answer myself -- Yes, that happened, but maybe, it some sort brain indigestion; interesting but not overly meaningful. I went on to deliver the package and waited for my next job. It just so happens, another unrelated job came along, going from Georgetown back to Capitol Hill.
A little unusual, but only a little bit. I picked it up and decided I could risk going back the way I came. I rode through the pink snowstorm of cherry blossoms, riding my bike again through the cyclones of petals, as I crossed near the bridge there; I again felt the very same sensation, as if to say, “No you’re not imagining it”, “No you’re not hallucinating, I am with you".
I haven't related this story to very many people, but relate it to you this way:
God is with us, God is with us humans, each and every one.
Prayer: We all find ourselves in need of direction at times. Thank you, Lord, for lighting the way. Amen.
No comments:
Post a Comment