“On that day there shall be inscribed on the bells of the horses, “Holy to the Lord.” And the cooking pots in the house of the Lord shall be as holy as the bowls in front of the altar …“
-Zechariah 14: 20
This morning there was a fire on the tracks of the #7 train at Vernon Blvd. in Queens. A smoke condition in the train tunnel existed so that no trains were permitted past Hunter’s Point Sta. Trains were being turned around. I board the #7 train at 61st St and ride to Queensboro Plaza, 5 stops on the local (one stop on the express which of course due to the fire today, was not running) for those of you not on the #7 line. This leg of my trip normally takes 10 minutes; today it took well over an hour.
This morning as I stood, I tried to be respectful of all the people who were pressed up against me. We were packed in closer than sardines. I believe that I, being a rather large woman, could have picked up both of my feet and I would never have hit the floor! I would have been supported by the sheer force of everyone pressing on me!
This morning I kept trying to pray. Many prayers marched through my mind. For a speedy resolution to this uncomfortable situation. I was trying to bless the tall guy with the backpack on that kept hitting me in the head. That was a real hard prayer. Then there was the person that hit me in the face as he tried to turn the pages of NY Times. Then answered prayer—the backpacking student got off at 33rd Street—then a new prayer focused on the person who took the backpacker’s place with their elbow in my back.
It was a long, long trip this morning. It is not always easy to pray. But the above verse kept clicking in my brain. God is in the ordinary. When we learn to see God in all of the everyday situations of life then—On that day there shall be inscribed, “Holy to the Lord”. God rides the #7 train with me and a whole lot of other folks.
Have you seen God in the ordinary? |