A Fellow Traveller

The night was black and I was struggling to steer my car. I had spent three hours visiting my cousin with ALS and was heading towards home. As I pulled over to the side of the road, there was not a house in sight. The tire was flat and I wondered, "What do I do now?"   Not having a cell phone was suddenly a problem. Not even seeing a house nearby to walk towards made that idea seem foolish as well. As I struggled to find the hazard lights, a pick up truck slowed down and a young man asked what was wrong.  "I have a flat tire and I don't have a cell phone." "No problem," he said and promptly pulled up behind me to help.  I watched in amazement as he worked to solve problem after problem. Because the wheels were bigger than the originals, nothing I had fit. Without his own tools, the wheel could not have been removed.   When he put on the spare tire, he noticed that it didn't have enough air to get me home. He decided to take it to his...

On this Labour Day holiday, my mind is celebrating all our summer labours. We got a daughter settled in her room in Ottawa, realizing that God has placed her where she needs to be to work at her co op job. We have to trust in his perfect timing for finding the place and release her to live in her new surroundings. Only God knows how she and Susan are joing to connect during these four months. We have to trust that God is already working in this situation and is allowing Stephanie to join in his work.   Joining with God in his work is what has changed my work from backbreaking to bearable and even light. The load is lighter when I can share it with the God of creation. When I join with him in creating change, it suddenly seems less overwhelming. As I talk to him each day in my classroom, I am more able to focus on small jobs and not be overwhelmed by the mountain ahead. I am able to get fresh ideas in organizing my space that I trust will help promote student independance in th...