Hope on a gloomy day

by Sister Patricia Ann Taube

One morning I woke up—the sky was overcast and I was late for an appointment.  I hurried to get dressed and reached for my phone.  It wasn’t where I usually put it.  I needed it so I could be on time for the rest of my appointments that day.  I finally found it.  I breathed a sigh of relief and checked my phone for the time.  Everything on the phone was in Chinese!  I asked someone to call the technology help number and it was the person’s day off!  I quickly went to the door to go to the car that was taking me for my dental appointment.  It was raining.  I had no umbrella and the car was parked three cars down.  Later, when I got back home, I took a shower, quickly dressed, and waited for my hair dresser to do my hair.  As I sat there, with my hair dripping wet, a friend knocked on the door and came in with a young woman whom I had never seen before.

‘’Sister, she said, you don’t know this young lady—she is the daughter of a couple you worked with in the 1970’s.  She wanted to meet you because her parents spoke so highly about you.”  I smiled and said, “Hello,” while drops of water from my wet hair dripped down my cheeks. “Where is the girl who’s supposed to do my hair, I grumbled to myself.”  Then I heard footsteps and was glad that she was coming.  Instead it was the janitor who came to bring me a new dresser!  I thanked him and he smiled—I’m sure it was at my wet head, although he didn’t see the streams of water trickling down my back under my shirt.  My hair finally got done and I went to my afternoon meeting.  When I walked in, one of the members asked me, “How are you feeling today?”  I paused, smiled, took a deep breath and said, “hopeful.”