First Things First
I had a fabulous
business trip to New York. The city was so clean and safe.
There were cops on every corner and in subways and the
people were nice...! It was amazing. I had a blast! Want to
go back and explore some more! Here's the neatest thing that
happened to me whilst I was there.
"Excuse me Sir, could you please tell me how to ride the
bus," I asked a nicely dressed business man who was standing
on 5th Avenue in New York.
"I've been standing by this bus stop but they don't seem to
stop for me," I continued. "I don't know if I'm supposed to
use money or a pass or where to get catch it or where to
stand" my voice trailed off. With a bemused look, he kindly
offered to help me by accepting my fare and using his pass
to get me on the bus. It turned out we were going the same
way.
The ride, which should have taken 5 minutes turned into 30
because of terrible traffic congestion. One simply can't
talk about weather forever, so we were forced to sort of get
acquainted. He seemed fascinated by stories of my upbringing
in Africa and my job, teaching art lessons to people who
can't even draw a straight line. He asked lots of questions.
As we disembarked and walked towards the Met together, he
said, "You've lead a fascinating life. We write stories
about people like you at my magazine. Perhaps I should get
your card."
"Which magazine is that?" I queried.
"People Magazine." He replied.
I was blown away. For over 10 years I have been visualizing
myself being written up in People one day. I knew I had to
write my books and produce the videos first, but this year I
realized it was time to get the word out. I had hired a
publicity agent, but even so, it's incredibly difficult to
get access to the right people. Here in front of me was the
Senior Writer, from People asking for my card.
And if that wasn't surprising enough, at that very moment, I
was actually supposed to be on a plane heading toward
California. That morning, I had impulsively decided to
prolong my visit and take a later flight, just so that I
could catch one more museum.
Throughout my 4 day business trip, I had not really taken
time to pray or read the Bible. I did a lot of that before I
left, but I was so busy doing business that I hadn't made
time. But this morning, I had an extra hour so I read a
story in Guideposts about a man who lost his wedding ring in
a garbage can. With virtually no hope of finding it, he
traveled to the dump to search through the miles of bags.
After scouring the dump for hours, he felt overwhelmed and
hopeless. Suddenly he remembered that he hadn't asked God
for help. He knelt down on the garbage heap and prayed. When
he looked up, there was his ring, glistening in the sun.
I got the message. Here I had been doing my business without
checking in with God. So I knelt down and asked God to lead
me, bless my day and direct me as to whether or not I should
take the scheduled flight or linger in the city a little
while longer. That day, He placed me on the right street
corner, with buses refusing to stop, and, of all the people
I could have asked, he directed me to this the Senior Writer
for People Magazine. Then He prolonged our ride so we could
chat. Since I didn't know who the man was, I was relaxed and
acted naturally. And if that wasn't enough, God saw to it
that he asked for my card, not the other way around. Wow! I
just love it when God makes it so obvious who's in charge.
Sometimes like Martha in the Bible, I rush about and get so
busy, I forget to sit at his feet and put the kingdom of God
first. I chase after things and if I have time left, I spend
time with God. But He says, "Seek ye first, the kingdom of
God, and all these things will be added unto you." What a
poignant reminder.
For years to come when I'm frantic and troubled about things
not going the way I want, I'll remember this time, when God
placed me exactly where he wanted me so that he could bless
me. People Magazine here I come!
By Sandra Angelo (c) 2002
President of Quite A Lot
DiscoverArtWithSandra.com Super Easy Art lessons... for
people who can't even draw a straight line.
sangelo1@san.rr.com