ANOTHER VIEW:
'Displaced' little New Testament provides antidote to temptation toward road rage
___Most of the misplaced objects in our house are a result of my displaced mind.
___A half-full mug of coffee disappears, only to reappear hours later in my son's room where I put it down to help him find his shoe. My cell phone rings, and I find it in the basket of mail.
___I no longer panic over these lapses.
___There are simply too many. And my doctor has assured me that it only gets serious when you begin to forget your own name, not your children's.
___But recently
a particularly odd incident made me wonder if there might be something else going on from time to time.
___I had been cleaning out a crammed bookshelf when I came upon an old leather-bound New Testament. I couldn't recall where it came from, and judging from the dust, it had been there for a while.
___It was a nice, small size, and I thought about seeing if it would fit in my purse when the phone rang and my son announced he was ready to be picked up.
___I carried the Bible along to try it in my purse, but instead I set it down in my car and soon forgot about it.
___The next day, I was on my way to a meeting when I turned onto a street and became hopelessly stuck in a traffic jam. Within minutes, horns were honking, people were rolling down windows and sirens were screaming. It was going to be a long wait.
___I looked around the car to see what I might have to read when I spotted the little New Testament. I picked it up, opened to a favorite Gospel and began to read.
___I was vaguely aware of horns and sirens. But after awhile, I began to forget about them as I read the soothing words.
___I made it through several chapters as I waited out the traffic jam. As the cars began to pull away, I noticed that most of the drivers look irritated and angry while I was feeling better than I'd felt all day.
___The next day, I went to pick up my son at school and watched boy after boy jump into cars and ride away while I waited. I began to fume.
___Finally I parked the car, turned off the engine and picked up the New Testament. By the time my son arrived, I was in a much better mood and his excuse sounded almost reasonable. We had a happy ride home.
___The little displaced New Testament has found a permanent home in my car now.
___I sometimes sneak in a verse at a long light. When I am waiting to pick up children I make a point of opening it and searching for verses on wisdom and patience.
___Instead of making telephone calls in the car, I take the time to listen to God. There's much less static.
___Recently I've begun to notice how angry some people look as they are driving down the street. I've been surprised by the number of drivers who seem to be just waiting to honk their horn or gun their engine. I've been thinking how much I used to be like that.
___The addition of that little New Testament to my car has made me a much better driver and a happier person. I think about how it accidentally ended up in the wrong place, and I have to wonder if it was absent-mindedness or divine inspiration.
___Whatever the case, I'm thinking my insurance company should add a special coverage category for people whose cars are similarly equipped.
___Dale Hanson Bourke is the mother of two sons and the author of five books. Her column is distributed by Religion News Service
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